Yes, you do have to have 10k loyalty points to become a noble. A guildmate did it very quickly. If you travel to the (true, not UO map) north-ish from the royal city and find that sandy/lava pit area... there are stone siths there. He stood there for quite some time and just casted EV's. It's a quick spawn... he was 10k in just a few hours.
There is also the Museum quests given by Axem the Curator (Royal City). Three different Quests... first is the Pottery shards (10 of them), second is the tattered pages (5 of them), and third is the untranslated text (only 1). You turn in and in addition to a nice bag of rewards... one being a possible special addition or 1st edition book.. you get loyalty pts. The rewarded items and loyalty points depends on which level of quest you complete... the third one has the greatest as it gives perfect gems and about 15k in gold.
Also... another good way is to do the Hunter quest given by Percoleum in the open air market (Royal City). He will ask you to kill a number of creatures... BUT... he gives an AWESOME bag of rewards... at least 20 magical residue and the possibility of a special book. You can easily gain loyalty points just doing this quest over and over.
You might also try Farmer Nashes Quest in Ter Mur... it's easy and he gives great unraveling loot! Good loyalty points gained there as well.
Hope that helps!