Head to head · Girls' names
Naomi vs Nova
#47 vs #46 in 2025 · Hebrew vs Latin roots
Nova is a whisker ahead (#46 vs #47 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Nova is stepping back from its peak, Naomi is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Naomi has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Naomi and Nova each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Naomi #247, Nova #796 — Naomi higher
- 1890s: Naomi #186, Nova #716 — Naomi higher
- 1900s: Naomi #156, Nova #686 — Naomi higher
- 1910s: Naomi #138, Nova #754 — Naomi higher
- 1920s: Naomi #138, Nova #778 — Naomi higher
- 1930s: Naomi #153, Nova #856 — Naomi higher
- 1940s: Naomi #230, Nova #1400 — Naomi higher
- 1950s: Naomi #313, Nova #2016 — Naomi higher
- 1960s: Naomi #381, Nova #1914 — Naomi higher
- 1970s: Naomi #297, Nova #1668 — Naomi higher
- 1980s: Naomi #239, Nova #3064 — Naomi higher
- 1990s: Naomi #230, Nova #4304 — Naomi higher
- 2000s: Naomi #145, Nova #1760 — Naomi higher
- 2010s: Naomi #78, Nova #399 — Naomi higher
- 2020s: Naomi #48, Nova #37 — Nova higher
Naomi stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Nova took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Naomi | Nova |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #247 | #796 |
| 1890s | #186 | #716 |
| 1900s | #156 | #686 |
| 1910s | #138 | #754 |
| 1920s | #138 | #778 |
| 1930s | #153 | #856 |
| 1940s | #230 | #1400 |
| 1950s | #313 | #2016 |
| 1960s | #381 | #1914 |
| 1970s | #297 | #1668 |
| 1980s | #239 | #3064 |
| 1990s | #230 | #4304 |
| 2000s | #145 | #1760 |
| 2010s | #78 | #399 |
| 2020s | #48 | #37 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Naomi
- Canada#64
Nova
- Scotland#74
- Canada#79
- England & Wales#80
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Naomi
Pleasantness; pleasant, agreeable
From the Hebrew root naʿem, 'to be pleasant or sweet'. The Book of Ruth plays on it directly: returning widowed, Naomi tells the women of Bethlehem to call her Mara, 'bitter', instead.
Naʿomi (Hebrew) → Noemin (Greek Septuagint) → Noemi (Latin Vulgate) → Naomi (English)
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew, and its written life begins in the Book of Ruth. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered it Noemin, and the Latin Vulgate Noemi — the form that still stands in Italian, Spanish and Polish.
Nova
"New" (Latin); also, in astronomy, a star that suddenly brightens
Nova is the feminine form of the Latin adjective novus, "new." The star sense comes from the same word and is the reason most English speakers recognize it.
novus (Latin, "new") → nova (feminine form) → stella nova ("new star") → Nova
How it traveled
" The Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe fixed it in scientific language with De nova stella, his 1573 account of the brilliant star that had appeared in Cassiopeia the previous year; later astronomers clipped stella nova down to nova, and it has meant a suddenly bright star ever since. The same adjective named Nova Scotia — New Scotland — when the Latin grant was made in 1621.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Naomi
nay-OH-mee
nay-OH-mee is standard in American English; some speakers stress the first syllable instead, NAY-oh-mee. The Hebrew is closer to nah-oh-MEE, with the weight at the end, and Japanese bearers of the identical spelling say nah-oh-mee with even syllables.
- Nomi — The most established short form, and a given name in its own right in Israel.
- Naomi — Most bearers in English use the full name in every setting, formal and casual alike.
- Mimi — Informal, drawn from the last two syllables; family use more than school use.
- Nay — Casual clipped form, mostly spoken rather than written.
- Also Omi.
Nova
NOH-vuh
Stress on the first syllable. In Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking households the final vowel is usually fuller: NOH-vah.
- Novie — Informal, family-level affectionate form; also spelled Novi.
- No-no — A toddler-years pet form rather than anything that follows a child to school.
- Nova — Works the other way round too: Nova serves as the everyday short form for longer names like Novalee and Novella.
Who has carried each name
Naomi
Naomi Watts (b. 1968) — Two-time Oscar nominee (The Impossible)
Naomi Campbell (b. 1970) — One of the original '90s supermodels
Naomi Osaka (b. 1997) — Four-time Grand Slam tennis champion
Nova
No documented entry for Nova yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Naomi if you want…
- a name on the way upup 5 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itNaomi runs 3 syllables, Nova 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Nomi, Naomi and Mimi
- a long American recordNaomi was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Nova if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsNova is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesNova is 2 syllables to Naomi's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooNova is on the national lists of Scotland, Canada and England & Wales
- a newer arrivalNova entered the US charts in 1885
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Naomi
Strengths
- A spelling nearly everyone can already write from hearing it once, with no silent letters or doubled consonants to explain.
- Recognizable across Hebrew, French, Italian, Spanish and Polish, so it travels without translation.
- A continuous written record from the Book of Ruth to the present, and continuous English use since the Reformation.
To consider
- Stress placement genuinely varies — nay-OH-mee, NAY-oh-mee, nah-oh-MEE — so she may spend a lifetime gently correcting people, or simply answering to all three.
- Noemi, Noemie and Naomie are all live spellings elsewhere, which means the occasional form filled out wrong even though the English spelling is the plain one.
- The name sits close to the strongest showing it has ever had in the United States, so it is climbing rather than obscure — familiar to most people who hear it, though a child is still unlikely to share a classroom with another.
Nova
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and read correctly on the first try by almost anyone literate in English.
- A real Latin word with a documented meaning, so the answer to "what does it mean?" is short and certain.
- Already in use in Scotland, Canada, and England & Wales, and pronounceable in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.
To consider
- In Spanish, "no va" means "doesn't go" — the old joke about the Chevy Nova car. It rarely comes up in practice, but the name is strongest in Texas, California, and Florida, so it is worth knowing about in advance.
- Nearly everyone carrying this name right now is a small child, so it reads as very much of this moment. There are few adult Novas to grow up alongside, and the name will likely be date-stamped to this era.
- It appears on both boys' and girls' pages, but as one word-name traveling two ways rather than two separate names meeting. A boy named Nova will be the rarer case by a wide margin, and will do some explaining.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Naomi
40%chance Naomi feels dated by 2040
Naomi sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Nova
79%chance Nova feels dated by 2040
Nova is coming down from a big peak (#32 in 2021). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Naomi and Nova in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Naomi and Nova?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Naomi and Nova — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Naomi or Nova — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Naomi or Nova?
- Nova, in 2025: Nova ranked #46 with 4,657 babies; Naomi ranked #47 with 4,644 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Naomi or Nova?
- Naomi. Over the last five years Naomi moved up 5 places; Nova moved down 8 places.
- Which is the older name, Naomi or Nova?
- Naomi was already in use when US records began in 1880; Nova entered the US charts in 1885. On the American record, Naomi is the older name.
- How many people are named Naomi and Nova?
- About 139,000 people named Naomi are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 52,500 people named Nova are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Naomis or Novas in the classroom?
- Naomi will almost certainly be the only one in school. Nova will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Naomi, Nova and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap