Noble
Derived from Latin, meaning exalted, renowned, or having high moral principles.
Name Census estimates that about 5,233 living Americans carry the first name Noble. It is a predominantly male name (95.3% of registrations). The average person named Noble today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Noble births was 1919 (203 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Noble. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Noble with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Noble is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 480 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
5.2K
~ 1 in 65,499 Americans
Peak year
1919
203 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,233
Tracked since 1880
Census
Noble in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,282 people with the first name Noble, which placed it at #4,385 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,385
National first-name rank
People counted
4.3K
4,282 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Noble
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Noble is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Noble described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Noble at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.0% · 2,356
- Black or African American26.6% · 1,140
- Two or more races6.6% · 282
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.0% · 256
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 217
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 31
Gender
Gender distribution for Noble
Noble leans heavily male at 95.3% of total registrations, but 480 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Noble as a male name
- Ranked #1,233 in 2024
- 162 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1920 (196 births)
Noble as a female name
- Ranked #8,273 in 2024
- 13 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1921 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Noble leans strongly male. 4,010 people counted with this name were male (93.5%), compared with 277 female bearers (6.5%).
Popularity
Noble: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Noble from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,583 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Noble remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Noble by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Noble during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nobles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. Texas, Indiana, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Noble, while Utah, South Carolina, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 144 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Noble
The name Noble originated from the Old French word "noble" which meant someone with an exalted status, noble character, or notable courage. It stems from the Latin word "nobilis" meaning well-known or distinguished. The name first emerged in medieval Europe during the feudal era, when titles of nobility were highly prized.
Noble was initially used as a descriptive title for aristocrats, knights, and members of the ruling class. It signified their elevated social rank, prestigious bloodline, and ownership of lands or property. Over time, it transitioned into a given name bestowed upon male children, carrying the connotation of high birth, valor, and moral virtue.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Noble appears in the 13th-century French epic poem "The Song of Roland." The main protagonist, Roland, a noble knight and military leader, embodied the chivalric ideals of courage, loyalty, and honor. His noble deeds and sacrifice during the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD inspired generations of warriors and poets.
In England, the name gained prominence during the Renaissance period. Sir Thomas Noble (c. 1515-1590) was a notable English soldier and politician who served under King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. He played a crucial role in suppressing the Northern Rebellion of 1569 and was knighted for his military accomplishments.
Another prominent figure was Noble Wimberly Jones (1723-1805), a British-American planter and politician from Georgia. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and signed the Articles of Confederation in 1778, contributing to the establishment of the United States.
In the realm of literature, Noble Wilford Butler (1872-1923) was an American author and journalist best known for his novel "The Way of the Dog," which portrayed the life of sled dogs in the Yukon Territory. His vivid depictions of the harsh Northern wilderness and the endurance of the canine spirit earned him critical acclaim.
During the American Civil War, Union Army General Noble D. Preston (1836-1922) distinguished himself in numerous battles, including the Battle of Chickamauga and the Atlanta Campaign. His bravery and leadership earned him the rank of Brevet Major General by the end of the war.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Noble throughout history, exemplifying the qualities of honor, distinction, and moral fortitude that the name embodies.
People
Noble + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Noble as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Noble: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Noble?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,233 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Noble going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 65,499 US residents.
Is Noble a common name?
We classify Noble as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,107 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Noble most popular?
The single biggest year for Noble was 1919, when 203 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Noble is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Noble in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,282 people with the name Noble, or 1.42 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,385 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Noble in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Noble?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Noble leans strongly male. 4,010 people counted with this name were male (93.5%), compared with 277 female bearers (6.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Noble?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Noble is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Noble most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Noble in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.0% (2,356 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Noble in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Noble a male name?
Yes, 95.3% of people registered as Noble in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Noble still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Noble in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Noble can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Noble?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.