2000
#3,274
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,030
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.72
Uncommon Last name
Noll
A surname of German origin, derived from a shortened form of the given name Oliver or Nolbert.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,432 Americans carry the last name Noll. That puts it at #3,493 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.34 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,982 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Noll surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 29,982
Census rank
#3,493
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10.0K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,969 bearers of the surname Noll in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.34 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3493rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Noll, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Noll
The surname NOLL is of Germanic origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "nol" or "nolle", which referred to a small hill or knoll. This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived near or on a hill.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname NOLL can be found in various medieval documents from Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. One notable example is a record from the year 1312 in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which mentions a person named Hans Noll.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the surname NOLL began to appear in other parts of Europe, including Switzerland and the Netherlands. This was likely due to migration patterns and the spread of the name through trade and travel.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname NOLL was Johann Noll (1492-1564), a German theologian and scholar who was an advocate for the Reformation. Another notable figure was Hans Noll (1530-1602), a Swiss painter and engraver known for his religious works.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname NOLL continued to be present in various parts of Europe, with records showing individuals bearing this name in regions such as Alsace, Saxony, and the Rhineland.
In the 18th century, a prominent bearer of the surname NOLL was Johann Friedrich Noll (1730-1805), a German painter and engraver known for his landscape works. Another notable figure from this period was Johann Christian Noll (1757-1834), a German architect and builder who designed several churches and public buildings in various cities.
As migration patterns shifted in the 19th and 20th centuries, the surname NOLL also began to appear in other parts of the world, particularly in North America and Australia, where individuals with this surname can be found among descendants of German and Swiss immigrants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Noll
Among Census respondents with the surname Noll, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Noll bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Noll surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 9,316
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 281
- Two or more races2.6% · 264
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 57
- Black or African American0.3% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Noll
Noll appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,442
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,374
+344 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 3.52
Rank movement Down 168 places
2020
#3,493
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,969
-405 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 3.34
Rank movement Down 51 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,274 | 10,030 | 3.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,442 | 10,374 | 3.52 | +344 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 168 places |
| 2020 | #3,493 | 9,969 | 3.34 | -405 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 51 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Noll surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,442 | #3,493 | -1.5% |
| Count | 10,374 | 9,969 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.52 | 3.34 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Noll bearers went from 10,374 to 9,969 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 51 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,442 to #3,493.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Noll
FAQ
Noll surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Noll?
Name Census estimates that about 11,432 living Americans carry the surname Noll. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,982 residents.
How common is Noll?
Noll ranks #3,493 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.34 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,969 people with the surname Noll. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,432), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.34 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.34 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Noll.
Has Noll become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Noll went from 10,374 recorded bearers to 9,969. That is a decrease of 405 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,442 to #3,493.
What does the Census say about the background of Noll?
Among Census respondents with the surname Noll, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Noll in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (9,316 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Noll appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Noll (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Noll mean?
A surname of German origin, derived from a shortened form of the given name Oliver or Nolbert. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Noll (3.34 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Noll?
See how many people have the last name Noll on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.