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

Nolen, 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 Nolen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nolen in America

Nolen is the 3315th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nolen surname appeared 10,820 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Nolen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nolen 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 Nolen

The surname Nolen is believed to have originated in Ireland, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Gaelic personal name "Nualláin," which means "little famous one" or "famous champion." This personal name was likely adopted as a surname during the transition from using patronymics to fixed hereditary surnames in Ireland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nolen can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In this text, a clan chief named Nualláin Ó Ceallaigh is mentioned as having lived in the 14th century. This suggests that the name was well-established in Ireland by that time.

The Nolen surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Sligo and Mayo in the northwestern part of Ireland. Some early recorded spellings of the name include Nollan, Nollin, and Noland, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling that were common in those times.

In the 17th century, during the period of English colonization and plantation of Ireland, many Irish families with the surname Nolen were dispossessed of their lands and dispersed throughout Ireland and beyond. This led to the name spreading to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to North America and other parts of the world.

Notable individuals with the surname Nolen throughout history include:

1. Edmund Nolen (c. 1598 - c. 1660), an Irish soldier who fought for the Catholic Confederacy during the Irish Confederate Wars.
2. John Nolen (1869 - 1937), an American landscape architect and urban planner, known for his work in developing the first comprehensive city plan for San Diego, California.
3. Eleanor Nolen (1898 - 1981), an American poet and author, best known for her children's book "The Life of the Spider."
4. William Nolen (1845 - 1923), an American businessman and politician, who served as the 19th Governor of Idaho.
5. Michael Nolen (born 1964), an American author and screenwriter, best known for his work on the television series "The X-Files" and "Millenium."

While the surname Nolen has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread across the globe, with bearers of the name contributing to various fields, including literature, politics, urban planning, and entertainment.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nolen

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

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 Nolen 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 Nolen 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 Nolen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!