Do you know the definition of noel? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word noel, including its definition, usage, word origin, example sentences, and more!
-
Kevin
-
August 17, 2021
-
Common Questions
Your writing, at its best
Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant
What does the word noel mean?
According to Merriam-Webster and Christianity, the word noel means Christmas. In French, Joyeux Noël and Joyeux Noel means Merry Christmas or literally “joyous noel.” The word noel can also mean good news, from the French bonnes nouvelles meaning good news. It can also mean birthday or refer to a Christmas carol. Usually in English, people use the word noel to celebrate or share the good news of the birth of Christ. You might see this term used on Christmas cards next to a picture of Santa Claus or Father Christmas. In the Bible, the story of the birth of the Heavenly Lord is told in the biblical gospels of Matthew and Luke, and was foretold by the prophets Isaiah and Micah. Now, we use Christmas as this celebration.
One of the most famous uses of the word Noel is in the Christmas carol The First Noel. The lyrics to this song are below, and refer to the birth of Jesus Christ. This word is also used in other English carols.
The First Noel the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields as they lay, keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
Every language uses a slightly different word to refer to Christmas. Many of these look like the word noel. See if you can figure out which of these translations of noel from Word Sense come from the same origin!
- Vilamovian: Waeinahta (fem.), Wajnaochta (fem.)
- Kyrgyz: Рождество
- Alutiiq: Aʀusistuaq
- Zulu: Ukhisimuzi
- Nepali: क्रिसमस (krismas)
- Ewe: Blunya
- Estonian: jõulud
- Hakka: 聖誕節, 圣诞节 (Sṳn-tan-chiet)
- Ladino: Noel
- Thai: คริสต์มาส, คริสตสมภพ
- Chuukese: Kirisimas
- Bengali: ক্রিসমাস
- Navajo: Késhmish
- Scots: Yule
- Swahili: Krismasi
- Marathi: नाताळ
- Polish: Boże Narodzenie (neut.)
- Walloon: Noyé (masc.) (f)
- Armenian: Սուրբ Ծնունդ
- Asturian: navidá (fem.), ñavidá (fem.)
- Hindi: क्रिसमस (masc.), बड़ा दिन
- Chuvash: Раштав
- Cyrillic: Божић (masc.), Рождество (neut.)
- Ingrian: Joulu
- Papiamentu: Pasku
- Chichewa: Khirisimasi
- Galician: Nadal (masc.)
- Ojibwe: niibaanamom
- Tatar: Раштуа
- Belarusian: Каляды́ (fem. pl.), Раство́ (neut.), Ражджаство́ (neut.), Ражаство́ (neut.), Нараджэ́нне Хрысто́ва (neut.)
- Finnish: joulu
- Cimbrian: Boinichtn
- Old Irish: Notlaic (fem.)
- Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤུའི་འཁྲུངས་སྐར།
- Urdu: کرسمس
- Lojban: xisyjbenunsla
- Tagalog: Pasko
- Ukrainian: Різдво́ (neut.), Різдво́ Христо́ве (neut.)
- Cantonese: 聖誕節, 圣诞节 (sing3 daan3 zit3)
- Tamil: கிறித்துமசு
- Greek: Χριστούγεννα (n-p)
- Romanian: Crăciun (neut.), Naștere lui Isus Cristos (fem.), Naștere Domn (fem.)
- Hebrew: חַג הַמּוֹלָד (khag ha’molad)
- Skolt Sami: rosttov
- Luxembourgish: Chrëschtdag (masc.)
- Friulian: Nadâl
- Bulgarian: Коледа (fem.), Рождество Христово (neut.)
- Scottish Gaelic: Nollaig (fem.)
- Guaraní: Arareñói
- Vietnamese: Nô-en, Giáng sinh, lễ Giáng sinh, lễ Thiên Chúa giáng sinh, Noel, Christmas
- Lithuanian: Kalėdos
- Danish: jul (common)
- Lakota: Wóšpipi, Wóšpipi Káǧapi
- Portuguese: Natal (masc.)
- Icelandic: jól (n-p)
- German: Weihnachten (neut.)
- Old English: Crīstesmæsse
- Slovene: Bôžič (masc.)
- Khmer: បុណ្យណូអែល (bon noo’ael), ណូអែល (noo’ael)
- Georgian: შობა
- Dutch: Kerstmis, kerst (masc.)
- Sotho: Kresemese
- Japanese: クリスマス (Kurisumasu), 聖誕節 (Seitansetsu)
- Czech: Boží hod (masc.)
- Welsh: Nadolig
- Korean: ^크리스마스, ^성탄절
- Javanese: Natal
- Italian: Natale (masc.)
- Azeri: Milad bayramı, Milad
- Catalan: Nadal (masc.)
- Lower Sorbian: gódy (pl.)
- Gujarati: નાતાલ
- Kazakh: Рождество
- Swedish: jul (common)
- French: Noël (masc.)
- Afrikaans: Kersfees
- West Frisian: Krysttiid
- Mongolian: Христосын Мэндэлсэн Едер, зул сарын баяр
- Arabic: عِيد اَلْمِيلَاد (masc.), اَلْكْرِيسْمَاس, اَلْمِيلَاد (masc.)
- Indonesian: Natal
- Uzbek: Mavlud, rojdestvo
- Min Nan: 聖誕, 圣诞 (Sèng-tàn), 耶誕, 耶诞 (Iâ-tàn)
- Maori: Kirihimete
- Russian: Рождество́ Христо́во (neut.), Рождество́ (neut.), Кри́стмас (masc.) (colloquial, foreign context or foreign communities)
- Aromanian: Crãciun
- Esperanto: kristnasko
- Maltese: Milied (masc.)
- Malayalam: ക്രിസ്തുമസ്
- Hungarian: karácsony
- Sranan Tongo: Bedaki
- Faroese: jól (n-p)
- Telugu: క్రిస్టమస్
- Macedonian: Божиќ (masc.)
- Malay: Hari Natal, Krismas
- Ladin: Nadel (masc.)
- Turkish: Noel
- Sicilian: Natali
- Norwegian: jul (fem.), jol (fem.)
- Manx: Nollick (fem.), Nollick Vooar (fem.)
- Kannada: ಕ್ರಿಸ್ಮಸ್
- Hawaiian: Kalikimaka, Kalikamaka
- Latvian: Ziemassvētki (masc. pl.), Ziemsvētki (masc. pl.)
- Cornish: Nadelek
- Mandarin: 聖誕節, 圣诞节 (Shèngdànjié), 耶誕節, 耶诞节 (Yēdànjié, Yédànjié) (Taiwan)
- Latin: festum Nativitatis Domini, nativitas, Christi Natalis
- Bavarian: Weihnåchtn
- Burmese: ခရစ္စမတ်, နာတာလူးပွဲ
- Basque: Eguberri
- Turkmen: Isanyň dogluşy
- Tajik: Мавлуди Исо, Кристмас
- Albanian: Kërshëndella
- Ofo: noⁿˊpi
- Irish: Nollaig (fem.)
- Persian: کریسمس (krismas), عید میلاد مسیح (eyd-e milâd-e masih), عید نوئل (eyd-e no’el)
- Lao: ຄິດສະມາດ, ໂນແອນ, ບົນໂນແອນ
- Yup’ik: Alussistuaq, Selavi
- Breton: Nedeleg
- Spanish: Navidad (fem.)
- Volapük: kritid, kritidazäl
- Greenlandic: juulli
- Yiddish: ניטל (masc.)
- Slovak: Vianoce (fem. pl.)
- Occitan: Nadal (masc.)
- Mòcheno: Bainechtn
- Norman: Noué (masc.)
- Sinhalese: නත්තලක්
- Roman: Božić (masc.), Roždestvo (neut.)
What is the origin of the word noel?
According to Etymonline and Alta Language, the word noel has been used since the late 14c Middle English and was also written as nowel or nouel to refer to Christmas and the Feast of the Nativity. This comes from the Old French noel referring to the Christmas season, which is a variant of nael. This comes from the Latin word natalis or Latin nātālis(diēs) meaning birth or birthday. This was used in Church Latin to refer to the birth of Christ, from the Latin natus, the past participle of nasci, a Latin verb meaning to be born, from the Old Latin gnasci. This comes from Proto-Indo-European roots; likely gene meaning to beget or give birth. In Modern English, the word noel has been used with the sense of a Christmas carol since 1811 and is a separate borrowing from French.
What are similar names to noel?
The name Noel is associated with Christmas and is popular for babies born in December and January. In 2020, this name ranked as the #415 most popular names in the United States, per Name Berry. Variations and nicknames for the name Noel are listed below. It is also a surname.
- Noell
- Noeleen
- Noella
- Noeline
- Noelene
- Noelle
- Nowell
- Noele
- Noela
Who are celebrities named Noel?
There are many different famous people named Noel. This is quite a popular name, particularly for those born around Christmas. How many of the below Noels are you familiar with? This list of famous Noels is provided by Ranker.
- Noel Fielding – English comedian, writer, actor, artist, musician, and television presenter of The Mighty Boosh
- Noel Gallagher – English singer, songwriter and guitarist
- Noel Redding – English rock musician
- Noel Edmonds – English television presenter and executive producer
- Noël Wells – American actress, voice actress, and comedian on Saturday Night Live
- Noel Coward – English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer
- Noel Anthony Clarke – English actor, screenwriter, director, and comic book writer
- Noel Gugliemi – American actor
- Noel Fisher – Canadian actor
- Noel Purcell – Irish actor of stage, screen and television
- Noel Miller – Social media star
Overall, the word noel means Christmas. This is used to refer to the birthday of Christ and is of Latin origin. The French word Noel is also used as a baby name.
Sources:
- 50+ Famous Noels | List of Famous People Named Noel | Ranker
- Noel: Name Meaning, Popularity, and Similar Names | Name Berry
- noel | Origin and meaning of the name noel | Online Etymology Dictionary
- The Etymology and Meaning of NOËL | Alta Language
- “Noel” – What Is It’s Meaning & Why Do We Say It? | Christianity
- Noel | Definition of Noel | Merriam-Webster
- Christmas: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense
