Noe
A surname usually linked to the biblical name Noah, though in some cases it may reflect Norman/French place-name or dialect forms.
The #3,229 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,611 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In most English-language cases, Noe is a surname formed from the biblical given name Noah, with the final vowel simplified in spelling. Some historical sources also connect similar forms with French and Norman words such as noue/noe, meaning a wet meadow or low-lying, waterlogged place, which could have influenced local surnames. In Ireland, the name also appears as a recorded personal name in medieval religious usage, which could later feed into surname forms.
History
The name appears in English and Norman records as a surname form and in older discussions is sometimes treated alongside Noah-related spellings. In Irish sources, Noe is noted as a given name borne by saints, showing that the form had some independent use beyond the biblical surname line. Modern bearers in the United States are likely to reflect more than one historical source stream.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
French dialect evidence preserved by 19th-century scholars uses noe/noue for a small watercourse or flooded meadow, a reminder that surname spellings can overlap with landscape words.
From the historical record
“a wet meadow; L.Lat. Borfa + O.FT.gent{e, fair; l.a.t.genit-; f.^e«i, a patrician family] Noe est encore usit6 en basse Norman- die avec le sens de petit cours d'eau, petit canal, ruisseau. On dit: une prairie de me, ou de noue, ou par abr6viation une noe, une noue, pour une prairie travers6e par un ou plusieurs…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)