I was about to post the same thing. But I've heard
Noel pronounced NOLE several times, incl.
Noel Coward, IIRC. I greatly dislike
Noel and
Noelle on girls for some odd reason but I very much like
Noel (NOLE) for boys. BTW, the character on "
Felicity" once reversed his name and referred to himself as
Leon for a little while. :b