Nova
Masculine · Latin roots · “New" (Latin)”
Nova is given to both — 3,227 boys and 55,783 girls since 1880. See Nova as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Nova is simply the Latin word for "new," and astronomers borrowed it for a star that suddenly flares into brightness. Two syllables, five letters, nothing silent or optional — it lands almost the same way in every language that has met it. Its use as a given name in America is more than a century old, though the wave carrying it now is very recent indeed.
How old is the name Nova?
Nova was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Nova is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 3,100 people named Nova are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nova most popular?
Nova peaked in 2020, reaching #758 nationally. Today it ranks #1305, 547 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Nova appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From novus (Latin, "new") to Nova
The story of Nova
The word is Latin: novus, "new," with nova as its feminine form, still living on in Italian and Portuguese as the everyday word for "new." 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. As a personal name it sat quietly in American records for generations before the recent surge, and it now charts in Scotland, Canada, and England & Wales as well.
Meaning
"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.
How the name formed
- novusLatin, "new"
- novafeminine form
- stella nova"new star"
- Nova
Related forms: Nova · Nova · Novella · נובה · Нова
Pronouncing Nova
NOH-vuh
Stress on the first syllable. In Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking households the final vowel is usually fuller: NOH-vah.
Nicknames for Nova
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2020317 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #758reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- −15.3%149 in 2025, from 176
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Nova in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nova in Latin — same name
- Nova in Portuguese — same name
- Novella in Italian — related form
- נובה in Hebrew — transliteration
- Нова in Russian — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Novas among us
people named Nova are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 11,464 born in 2025 was named Nova
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Nova
- #1305
- Nova on the 2025 chart
- #759
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Nova went to 149 boys in 2025, but Novah is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 169, which makes it the 759th most-given boys’ name of the year — 546 places above the chart.
- Nova149
- Novah20
About 1 boy in 10,107 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 11,464 for Nova itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jessy test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nova's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jessy climbed just as high around 1992, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jessy's path sketches the road Nova is walking now.
Nova 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Nova is headed
Nova is easing off slowly — about 17% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Nova beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nova in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- Short enough to need no nickname, while still offering Novie for family use.
- 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.
- The word also belongs to a car model and a long-running public television science series — recognizable references, neither of them a burden.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Nova
Masculine · Latin roots · #1305 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Novas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,100 people named Nova are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Nova?
- Nova is the most-used spelling in US records — 149 of the 169 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Novah.
- How popular is the name Nova in 2025?
- Nova ranks #1305 among US boy names in 2025, with 149 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nova?
- About 1 in every 11,464 US boys born in 2025 was named Nova — 149 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nova with classmates?
- Nova will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nova
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Genesis#1305 · Haiden#1305 · Roan#1305 · Keenan#1305 · Renzo#1310 · Rustyn#1310 · Coleman#1310 · Giovani#1310
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nova? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nova and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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