Noel or Noël is a given name and a surname, often given to both girls and boys born over the Christmas period.^[1]

Noel derives from the old French Noël "Christmas", a variant (and later a replacement) of nael, which itself derives from the Latin natalis "birth". The term natalis dies (birth day) was long used in Church Latin in reference to the birthday of Christ—or in other words: Christmas. In modern English, a Noel can also refer to a Christmas carol.^[2][3] The diaeresis (¨) can be used over the e when the two vowels should be pronounced as separate syllables instead of a diphthong.^[4]

Other nicknames and modern variations include Noele, Noeline, Nowell, Noela, Noell, Noella, Noelene, Noeleen, and Noelle/Noëlle (French, feminine).^[5]

People

• Noël (singer), American disco singer
• Noel Agazarian (1916–1941), British pilot
• Noel Barrionuevo (b. 1984), Argentine female professional field hockey player and Olympian
• Noel Bauldeweyn (c. 1480–1513), Franco-Flemish composer
• Noel Blanc (b. 1938), American voice actor, son of Mel Blanc
• Noel Cabangon (b. 1963), Filipino singer
• Noel Chavasse (1884–1917), British medical officer and decorated hero
• Noel Clarke (b. 1975), English actor and writer
• Noël Coward (1899–1973), British actor, playwright, and popular music composer
• Noel Devine (b. 1988), American football player
• Noel Dyson (1916–1995), British actress
• Noel Edmonds (b. 1948), British television presenter and DJ
• Noel Emmanuel (b. 1960), 6th Bishop of Trincomalee
• Noel Fielding (b. 1973), British comedian and television actor
• Noel Fisher (b. 1984), Canadian actor
• Noel Francis (c. 1906–1959), American actress
• Noel Gallagher (b. 1967), English musician
• Noel V. Ginnity (fl. 1957–2020's), Irish comedian
• Noël Godin (b. 1945), Belgian writer
• Noel Harrison (1934–2013), British actor and singer
• Noel Hood (1909–1979), British actress
• Noel Jenke (1946–2020), American football player
• Noel King (b. 1956), Republic of Ireland U-21s football manager
• Noel LaMontagne (b. 1977), American football player
• Noel Langley (1911–1980), South African novelist, screenwriter and director
• Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes (1878–1956), British philanthropist and social leader, heroine of the Titanic disaster
• Noel MacNeal (b. 1961), American puppeteer
• Noël Martin (1959–2020), British activist and neo-Nazi attack victim
• Noel Neill (1920–2016), American actress
• Noel Pagan or Noel, American freestyle musician
• Noel Paul Stookey (b. 1937), American folk musician
• Noel Redding (1945–2003), English guitarist and bassist
• Noël Regney (1922–2002), French songwriter
• Noel Rosa (1910–1937), Brazilian songwriter and musician
• Noel Rosal (b. 1964), Filipino politician
• Noel Stanton (1926–2009), English religious leader, founder of the Jesus Army
• Noel Stockdale (1920–2004), English businessman
• Noel Streatfeild (1895–1986), British author (Ballet Shoes)
• Noel Sullivan (b. 1980), Welsh singer and actor
• Noel Toy (1918–2003), American burlesque performer and actress
• Noel Thatcher, British Paralympic athlete
• Noel Walsh (1935–2020), Irish Gaelic footballer, administrator, selector, manager and member of the Defence Forces
• Noel Whelan (b. 1974), English professional footballer
• Noël Wells (b. 1986), American comedian and actress
• Noel Wimalasena (1914–1994), Sri Lankan Sinhala diplomat, 1st Governor of Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka
• María Noel (b. 1943), Uruguayan model and actress

Fictional characters

• Noel Crane, in the tv show Felicity
• Noël (comics), a character and comics series by André Franquin
• Noel Gruber a character in the musical Ride the Cyclone
• Noel (mermaid), in the manga and anime series Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch
• Noel K. Ehrlichkeit, in the Triangle Heart video game
• Noel Vermillion in the fighting game series BlazBlue
• Noel Kreiss, from the video game Final Fantasy XIII-2
• Noël Kannagi, from the anime Sora No Woto
• Noël Takao, from the Super Sentai series Lupinranger VS Patranger
• Noel Shempsky, in the tv show Frasier
• Noel Seeker, in the video game series The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure and others

In names for Santa Claus

• Père Noël, the French equivalent to Santa Claus, literally translated "Father Christmas"
• Papá Noel, the Spanish and Latin American equivalent
• Pare Noel, the Catalan-speaking regions' equivalent
• Papai Noel, the Brazilian equivalent
• Baba Noel, the Chaldean and Arabic equivalent