Noreen
Of Gaelic origin, meaning light or radiant.
Name Census estimates that about 12,028 living Americans carry the first name Noreen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Noreen today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Noreen births was 1948 (654 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Noreen. 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.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 28,496 Americans
Peak year
1948
654 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,551
Tracked since 1892
Popularity
Noreen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Noreen from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 5,187 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Noreen 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 Noreen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Noreens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. New York, Illinois, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Noreen, while South Dakota, South Carolina, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 429 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Noreen
The name Noreen is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "Nuala," which means "fair" or "bright." It is a feminine form of the name Noel or Noelle, which means "Christmas" or "born on Christmas Day." The name Noreen originated in Ireland and has been in use since the late Middle Ages.
In Irish mythology, Nuala was the name of a famous princess who was known for her beauty and grace. The name Noreen was popularized in Ireland during the 19th century, and it became a common name for Irish girls born around Christmas time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Noreen dates back to the 16th century, when it was mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The name was also mentioned in several Irish folk songs and ballads from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Noreen. One of the earliest was Noreen Brenock (1546-1620), an Irish noblewoman who was known for her support of the arts and literature. Another famous Noreen was Noreen Mavourneen (1790-1865), an Irish folk singer and musician who popularized many traditional Irish ballads.
In the 20th century, Noreen was the name of several prominent women, including Noreen Corcoran (1924-2016), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Hollywood films in the 1940s and 1950s. Noreen Kershaw (1934-2023) was a British author and journalist who wrote several books on travel and adventure.
Another notable Noreen was Noreen Gosch (1960-present), an American activist and author who has campaigned for the rights of missing children and their families. Noreen Culhane (1949-present) is an Irish businesswoman and entrepreneur who founded several successful companies in the technology and manufacturing sectors.
The name Noreen has remained popular in Ireland and other parts of the world, and it continues to be used as a feminine given name today.
People
Noreen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Noreen 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
Noreen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Noreen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,028 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Noreen 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 28,496 US residents.
Is Noreen a common name?
We classify Noreen as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20,074 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Noreen most popular?
The single biggest year for Noreen was 1948, when 654 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Noreen is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Noreen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Noreen in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.