Noel v. Noelle

bumpuser9353653

Seems Noel is traditionally the masculine form, and Noelle the feminine, but has anyone seen Noel on a girl before?

I like the look of Noel better, but if it's strictly masculine or taboo enough to put it on a girl, I would stick with Noelle.

Thoughts?

ETA: I would pronounce it "No-elle"

slovacmom

I have never heard of the name Noelle before, only seen Noel and on males. But this could be a more American thing to do? In my country a girl would never be named Noel (or Noelle).

brooklynesque

I would assume a Noel was a boy.  (And I'd pronounce it "Nole.")

Noelle is a beautiful name.

bumpuser9353653

slovacmom said:

I have never heard of the name Noelle before, only seen Noel and on males. But this could be a more American thing to do? In my country a girl would never be named Noel (or Noelle).

It means "Christmas" in French.

DH and I started dating and got engaged around Christmas time, so it has special meaning to me

LyndseylovesHugh

I would assume Noel was a man and would pronounce it nol and would assume Noelle was a woman and would pronounce it no-elle.

Harveys11

My little girl cousin's MN is Noel. I do prefer Noelle though.

Chapter79

No, I would assume Noel is a boy.. I know one.  And I also know a girl Noelle.  I wouldn't do Noel for a girl.

Jags8

I've seen Noel on a girl, but I prefer Noelle. I assumed she was a "he" until I saw her picture, since Noel is the masculine form.

ETA- I also know a girl Noella, which I think is very pretty.

bumpuser9353653

Thanks all! It'd be a MN, for whatever that's worth. But sounds like the consensus is to use Noelle, so that's what I'll stick with. :-)

nittanyllama

mjreilly2 said:

I would pronounce Noel /NOLE/ and Noelle /no-EL/.

I would assume Noel was a boy, pronounced /NOLE/. I would assume Noelle was a girl. 

I would not say Noel as /no-EL/ unless you had the accent mark. You would have to spell it Noël (which is still masculine).

This.

MrsZ1891

My daughter was born on Christmas and we gave her the middle name Noel. I spelled it like that b/c of the traditional Christmas spelling. 

homediva

It's French and the feminine form is absolutely with the double l ending, as Noel it is masculine.

brooksidebride

brooklynesque said:

I would assume a Noel was a boy.  (And I'd pronounce it "Nole.")

Noelle is a beautiful name.

Yep to both!

bcnoelle

I am a Noelle. I have only met female Noelles, although my name is often spelled on reservations and at Starbucks as Noel. I think Noel would get mispronounced like Nole frequently. Overall. I am happy my name is spelled Noelle.

eyenigh

My middle name is Noel. Most people want to pronounce it "Knoll" but it is supposed to be "No-elle." I was born in July so it has nothing to do with Christmas other than that's apparently where my mom got the spelling. If it were my first name, I'd definitely prefer Noelle.

momo21

I've know one Noel woman and several Noelles. I definitely think "Noelle" is more feminine, and I just prefer the way it looks. We may use it as a middle name.

macchiatto

LyndseylovesHugh said:

I would assume Noel was a man and would pronounce it nol and would assume Noelle was a woman and would pronounce it no-elle.

Same here, though I have seen Noel on a girl once or twice. 

kayjay10

I have only see Noel on a boy and would pronounce it "Nole."  Noelle is a beautiful name for a girl, but Noel not so much.

ConversationFear

RugbyMamma said:

Seems Noel is traditionally the masculine form, and Noelle the feminine, but has anyone seen Noel on a girl before? I like the look of Noel better, but if it's strictly masculine or taboo enough to put it on a girl, I would stick with Noelle. Thoughts? ETA: I would pronounce it "No-elle"

Noel is the masculine form of Noelle (and vice versa). They aren't meant to be used on the other gender because each gender has its own version. If I saw Noel - I would assume boy pronounced "Nole" If I saw Noelle, I would assume girl pronounced "No-Ell".

Suzanne237

My middle name is Noel. Due date was Christmas. Arrived Dec 19 but they still went w it. I really like it. And I like it being Noel like Christmas spelling. I like it as MN not sure how I would feel as FN... Especially if born in April...

zaramarie81

I would say Noel is masculine and pronounced differently than the female Noel.

zaramarie81

Ugh I mean female Noelle.

Keri Marie

Noel is a common girl name in my family... but we're French and it's an old family name. No one in my family has used it in association with Christmas. 

It's my sister's MN

I think some of the older names are often tricky, having male and female forms. My DD's MN is Rene' (maiden name) and almost no one ever realizes it's a boy name.

KTZ17

FWIW Noel is a boys' name in Spanish, pronounced like the female version in English (Noelle). I think Noelia is also beautiful.

LushC

KTZ17 said:

FWIW Noel is a boys' name in Spanish, pronounced like the female version in English (Noelle). I think Noelia is also beautiful.

This. Noel is a family name used frequently on my father's side and it's always pronounced "no-el." I've actually never heard of the "nole" pronunciation until this thread.

I also think Noelle is beautiful and feminine. I wouldn't use Noel for a girl. Whether they're thinking No-el or Nole the bottom line (for me anyway) is people are thinking boy.

mc0113

Noel is the masculine version and Noelle the feminine.

bumpuser9353653

Thanks all! As it turns out, DH doesn't like the name (surprise, surprise) so I guess I won't be using Noelle after all. Loved all the feedback, though!

catahoulatte

kayjay10 said:

I have only see Noel on a boy and would pronounce it "Nole."  Noelle is a beautiful name for a girl, but Noel not so much.

Agree.

bardini

Our little boy will be Nolan and probably Noel for short. I love Noelle- so pretty.