Find out how popular the last name Nold is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Nold.

Nold, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Nold surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nold in America

Nold is the 18423rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nold surname appeared 1,503 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Nold.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nold to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Nold

The surname NOLD is of German origin, first appearing in records from the 14th century. It is derived from the Old German word "nolda" or "nolta," meaning a small, wooded valley or glen. The name likely originated in the regions of southern Germany, such as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where these geographic features were prevalent.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name NOLD can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the principality of Anhalt, dated around the year 1350. The document mentions a "Johannes Nold" from the town of Zerbst.

In the 15th century, the name appears in the records of the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, with a "Hans Nold" listed as a citizen in 1472. This suggests that the NOLD family had established itself in urban centers of the region by that time.

The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) saw the displacement of many German families, including those bearing the surname NOLD. Some members of the NOLD clan are known to have settled in neighboring regions such as Alsace, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire.

A notable figure with the surname NOLD was Johann Nold (1640-1708), a German theologian and professor of philosophy at the University of Wittenberg. His works included treatises on logic and metaphysics, reflecting the intellectual traditions of the era.

In the 18th century, the name NOLD can be found in the records of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, with a "Christian Friedrich Nold" listed as a landowner in the village of Döllstädt in 1742.

Another prominent individual was Johann Baptist Nold (1805-1882), a German Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools and orphanages in the Rhineland region of Germany.

As the NOLD family dispersed throughout the German-speaking lands and beyond, variations in spelling emerged, such as Nolde, Noldt, and Nolten. Some of these variants may have been influenced by local dialects or scribal errors in record-keeping.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nold

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Nold.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Nold was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Nold has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Nold was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Nold, please contact us.

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