My name is Noelle, I am 47, and I can tell you no one EVER gets my name right upon reading it in an English speaking country. My college graduation they called me the male version. I am usually called Nicole accidentally. Once they hear it they say "Oh what a pretty name" and then ask if I was born on Christmas, which I was born in the summer but have French ancestry. Today gender neutral names are in style and if you name your daughter Noelle she may not thank you, but at least when she gets a call from the ARMY when she is graduating from high school (to try to recruit her) they won't be so shocked when they realize they called a girl, like they did when I was 18. I often go by Elle now, as people get that. But far and away people call me Nicole when they see my name ALL THE TIME. They see the N and E at the end and fill in the middle. I like my name, but it has been a huge hassle my whole life, just FYI for those of you thinking about using it. It also means Christmas, which is about JESUS for those of you who aren't Christians, so do yourself a favor and don't use it if you aren't a Christian, as that is disrespectful.

knew a girl named noeli, i thought that was pretty...i think it is the spanish version of the name

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Male version reminds me of Noel Coward.

Me, too. And also back to the days when I was reading the "Ballet Shoes" books by Noel Streatfeild. I love the name Noel for a boy and was surprised people think it's a girls' name or pronounce it Noelle. People don't get confused about Joel and Joelle, but I guess it all depends upon how common the name is. (Also, I guess there isn't a song called The First Joel in which it's pronounced Joelle, come to think of it...)

We must have this song. We need this song.

Anonymous wrote:Male version reminds me of Noel Coward.

Me, too. And also back to the days when I was reading the "Ballet Shoes" books by Noel Streatfeild. I love the name Noel for a boy and was surprised people think it's a girls' name or pronounce it Noelle. People don't get confused about Joel and Joelle, but I guess it all depends upon how common the name is. (Also, I guess there isn't a song called The First Joel in which it's pronounced Joelle, come to think of it...)

Male version reminds me of Noel Coward.

My best friend's name is Noelle. She is amazing! I love that name.

I think Noelle is very pretty, delicate, and feminine. But I too think Christmas baby.

Certainly implies an Xmas birthday, imo

I love Noelle!!

Anonymous wrote:I like the international flair of the dots.

Hehehe...can we be friends?

I have a Noel (boy). Doctors' offices, new teachers, etc. always say "Noelle" first, but once corrected (sounds like knoll) it's fine. He's the only child I know with the name -- all the others I know are adults over 30.

Anonymous wrote:Noel for a boy, Noelle for a girl.

I know one of each, both adults.

Noelle is very pretty and you never hear it for a first name. Great choice, OP!

In French it's called a tréma.

Noël is a French masculine form of Christmas and should always have the tréma.

Noelle is feminine and doesn't need it.

Noel without the trema is Anglicized, and the missing tréma led to the 'Knowle' pronunciation.

Noe and Noelia in Spanish