This page is historical. Follow this link for the current version.
Dictionary of Medieval Names
from European Sources

Noel m. Old French no(u)el from Latin natalis 'of or pertaining to birth'.

The phrase dies natalis refers to Christmas, the day of Jesus's birth; Noel was hence given to children who were born on Christmas day. See also Natale.

England
Dutch
1597 Noel AuFr Frambout; 1598 Noel ibid. Frombout
Early Modern English
1583/4 Nowell SurMus p. 129
Middle French
1575 Noel WCS p. 11; 1597 Noel ibid. p. 91
Walloon
1582 Noel RWC p. 5; 1590 Noel ibid. p. 441; 1591 Noel ibid. p. 17; 1593 Noel ibid. p. 28; 1593/4 Noel ibid. p. 30; 1594 Noel ibid. p. 32; 1595 Noel ibid. p. 37; 1595/6 Noel ibid. p. 40; 1596 Noel ibid. p. 43
France
Old French
1291 Noel (obl) HistHdVParis p. 108; 1292 Noel (obl) ibid. p. 109; 1296 Noël paris1296 p. 60; 1298 Noel (obl) HistHdVParis p. 141; 1313 Noel Paris1313 p. 8, Nouel ibid. p. 118
Middle French
1392 Noel MemBret-II col. 598; 1418 Noel HGParis p. 372, Noël DdB1418 p. 196; 1421 Noel favier 320; 1438 Noel ibid. 566; 1561 Noël RegPCC-1 p. 2; 1562 Noël ibid. p. 13; 1563 Noieul ibid. p. 535, Noël ibid. p. 17; 1564 Noël ibid. p. 67; 1565 Nouel ibid. p. 120, Noël ibid. p. 111; 1566 Noël ibid. p. 208; 1567 Noël ibid. p. 279; 1568 Nouel ibid. p. 372, Noël ibid. p. 367; 1570 Noël ibid. p. 425; 1571 Noël ibid. p. 443; 1572 Noël ibid. p. 496
Cite as: J. Uckelman, S.L. Uckelman. "Noel". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2021, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2021/1/name/Noel.