Recorded 1892–2025 · United States
Nolen was most popular in 2009, when 110 American babies were given the name — ranking #3,357 that year. In 2025 it ranked #5,081, with 58 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 3,458 people named Nolen.
Nolen first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1892, which makes it about 133 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 118 of the 134 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 3,458 American births named Nolen between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 2,570 are estimated to be alive today.
58 American babies were named Nolen in 2025, ranking #5,081 that year.
Nolen is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 63 births a year, against 85 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -25% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Nolen is a boy’s name — 0.3% of the 3,458 Americans given it were girls and 99.7% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 1% girls and 99% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 2,570 Americans named Nolen are alive today — 74% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 17 years old, and half are between 10 and 28.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Nolen on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org