Nola
- Pronunciation
- [No-la]
- Gender
- Female
- Meaning
- Famous
- Origin
- Celtic
About the Name Nola
Nola is a name of Celtic and Irish character, often understood to mean "famous" and sometimes treated as a feminine companion to Nolan or a short form of Fionnuala. Its crisp two-syllable shape and bright vowels give it a vintage charm, and for some it also nods playfully to New Orleans through the city's familiar NOLA shorthand, adding a touch of jazzy, southern warmth to its Celtic roots.
That combination of antique sweetness and modern ease is much of its appeal. Nola reads as both old-fashioned and fresh, the kind of short, spirited name that has surged as parents revive early-twentieth-century favorites with a contemporary lightness. It is brisk, friendly, and easy to say, with the snap of a name that feels rediscovered and brought freshly back to life for a new generation of children.
Nola first entered the US Social Security top-1000 for girls in 2008 and has remained there ever since, reaching its peak in 2020 at rank #553. It held at #766 in 2024, with 367 girls given the name, and stood at #627 as recently as 2022, having accumulated 6,533 girls across its top-1000 run. That steady climb and strong recent showing mark it as a snappy, rediscovered charmer now firmly established in modern American naming — short, bright, and brimming with personality in just two snappy, spirited syllables.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Nola
US Popularity History (2008–2025)
Annual US births named Nola by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2020 with 537 girls named Nola (girl rank #553 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2025, ranked #822 for girls (331 US births). That's 269 places below its 2020 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
Paste the snippet below on any HTML page. Includes a credit link back to 9BabyNames — please keep it intact.
Where in the US Is Nola Most Popular?
Average girl-name rank within each state across 2016–2025 SSA records. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's girls-name rankings — a per-capita measure that isn't biased toward large states. For Nola the strongest states are District of Columbia, Louisiana, Mississippi.
Strongest girls-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | #215 | 17 |
| 2 | Louisiana | #353 | 140 |
| 3 | Mississippi | #415 | 65 |
| 4 | Iowa | #472 | 24 |
| 5 | North Carolina | #474 | 184 |
| 6 | Connecticut | #515 | 37 |
| 7 | Wisconsin | #524 | 100 |
| 8 | Nevada | #529 | 22 |
| 9 | Georgia | #530 | 176 |
| 10 | Tennessee | #557 | 135 |
Weakest girls-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | #1,066 | 117 |
| 2 | Texas | #944 | 128 |
| 3 | Arizona | #872 | 37 |
| 4 | Florida | #861 | 172 |
| 5 | New York | #783 | 171 |
| 6 | Illinois | #741 | 137 |
| 7 | Colorado | #735 | 46 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | #730 | 29 |
| 9 | Oregon | #722 | 20 |
| 10 | Washington | #712 | 96 |
Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. States with fewer than 3 years of data for Nola in this window are excluded. Births < 5 in a given state-year are suppressed by SSA for privacy.
Looking for names like Nola?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Nola to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Nola against today's most popular girls-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).
Nola Baby Name Ideas
- When a Baby's First and Last Names Start With the Same Sound: Testing Alliteration in Real Life
- Baby Names for Last Names With First-Syllable Stress: Building Rhythm After a Strong Opening Beat
- Should Sibling Names Share an Ending Sound? Building a Set Without Making a Chorus
- The Best Middle Names for Ellie: Pairings That Let a Bright Short Name Stand on Its Own
- The Best Middle Names for Julian: Pairings That Keep a Three-Syllable Classic Clear
- The Best Middle Names for Eliana: Pairings That Give a Four-Syllable Name a Clear Landing
- The Best Middle Names for Hudson: Pairings That Balance a Surname-Style First Name
- Baby Names for Last Names Ending in -son: Avoiding a Surname Stack
- The Best Middle Names for John: Pairings That Give a One-Syllable Classic More Range
- The Best Middle Names for Evelyn: A Sound-First Pairing Guide
- Sherlock Holmes and Victorian Baby Names: The Great-Grandparent Comeback, From Baker Street to the Birth Certificate
- Popular Black Baby Names: Rich in Meaning and Legacy
- 50 Cutest Names for Boys: Adorable Choices for Your Little One
- Triplet Boy Names - Triplet Names For Boys
- 400 Boy Names And Girl Names Inspired By Famous Brands
- Names By State: Top 100 Baby Names In Alabama
- Top 1000 Most Popular Girl Names In U.S. Of 2015
- Top 1000 Most Popular Boy Names In U.S. Of 2015
- 300 Pretty Girl Names End With La
- 112 Sporty Boy Names For Your Little Boys