Nuala
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- NOO-la
- Origin
- Irish
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,036 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #11,928 for girls
Big in Scotland
Nuala is a girls' name of Irish origin, meaning “white shoulder”. In 2025 it ranked 1,036th for girls in the UK (35 babies) and 11,928th for girls in the US (7 babies).
What does Nuala mean?
Irish: short form of Fionnuala
“white shoulder”
A short form of Fionnuala, eldest of the Children of Lir, who were turned into swans for 900 years.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Nuala a girl's or a boy's name?
Nuala is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 35 girls in the UK and 7 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nuala in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,036among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 35about 1 in 8,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 3% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 35 girls in the UK were named Nuala, making it the 1,036th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,033rd. Its busiest year was 2015, with 52 girls.
2025 had fewer girls named Nuala than any year since 2020.
Half of all the girls named Nuala in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2019. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,197th in England and Wales and 387th in Scotland.
Nuala in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 35 | #1,036 |
| 2024 | 40 | #947 |
| 2023 | 39 | #969 |
| 2022 | 48 | #806 |
| 2021 | 52 | #780 |
| 2020 | 35 | #1,033 |
| 2019 | 41 | #942 |
| 2018 | 41 | #964 |
| 2017 | 51 | #831 |
| 2016 | 47 | #864 |
| 2015 | 52 | #799 |
| 2014 | 32 | #1,149 |
| 2013 | 38 | #1,022 |
| 2012 | 43 | #934 |
| 2011 | 44 | #887 |
| 2010 | 27 | #1,262 |
| 2009 | 29 | #1,147 |
| 2008 | 31 | #1,064 |
| 2007 | 36 | #924 |
| 2006 | 33 | #955 |
| 2005 | 31 | #943 |
| 2004 | 32 | #910 |
| 2003 | 21 | #1,156 |
| 2002 | 22 | #1,085 |
| 2001 | 28 | #891 |
| 2000 | 19 | #1,137 |
| 1999 | 26 | #923 |
| 1998 | 22 | #1,049 |
| 1997 | 41 | #683 |
| 1996 | 21 | #1,024 |
How popular is Nuala in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #11,928among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 7about 1 in 230,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 7 girls in the US were named Nuala, making it the 11,928th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 15,083rd. Its busiest year was 2009, with 26 girls. It first appears in the records in 1948.
Half of all the girls named Nuala in the US since 1880 were born between 1973 and 2015, the years shaded on the chart below.
Nuala in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #11,928 |
| 2024 | 15 | #7,247 |
| 2023 | 9 | #10,307 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 11 | #8,973 |
| 2020 | 5 | #15,083 |
| 2019 | 5 | #15,532 |
| 2018 | 10 | #9,801 |
| 2017 | 11 | #9,337 |
| 2016 | 11 | #9,408 |
| 2015 | 9 | #10,861 |
| 2014 | 13 | #8,480 |
| 2013 | 14 | #8,131 |
| 2012 | 20 | #6,338 |
| 2011 | 15 | #7,779 |
| 2010 | 10 | #10,446 |
| 2009 | 26 | #5,377 |
| 2008 | 10 | #10,802 |
| 2007 | 16 | #7,729 |
| 2006 | 5 | #17,163 |
| 2005 | 9 | #10,915 |
| 2004 | 12 | #8,711 |
| 2003 | 7 | #12,401 |
| 2002 | 8 | #11,102 |
| 2001 | 6 | #13,514 |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 5 | #14,403 |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 5 | #8,421 |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 5 | #8,322 |
| 1970 | 10 | #5,060 |
| 1969 | 8 | #5,455 |
| 1968 | 8 | #5,146 |
| 1967 | 6 | #6,041 |
| 1966 | 7 | #5,272 |
| 1965 | 9 | #4,493 |
| 1964 | 7 | #5,473 |
| 1963 | 6 | #5,890 |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 7 | #5,308 |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 5 | #5,826 |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 5 | #5,299 |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 6 | #4,649 |
Names like Nuala
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Noa Safa Layla Ayla Hafsa Ayra Orla Hiba Nala Dua Pippa Noura
Names related to Nuala
More Irish names
Oscar Rowan Rory Maeve Finn Aiden Ryan Nolan Quinn Cody Erin Ronan Connor Declan Casey Kennedy
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Nuala: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nuala, updated 20 October 2026.