Novah
Feminine · Latin roots · “New (Latin)”
Novah is given to both — 3,469 girls and 514 boys since 1880. See Novah as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Behind this spelling sits the Latin word nova, the feminine of novus: new. Astronomers borrowed it for a star that suddenly flares into brightness, and mapmakers used it for whole new places — Nova Scotia is simply New Scotland. The final -h is an American addition, joining a long line of names that end that way: Sarah, Hannah, Norah.
How old is the name Novah?
Novah first appears in US birth records in 2006 — 19 years ago. The typical Novah is a kid of about 4 — this name's wave is very recent. About 3,500 people named Novah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Novah most popular?
Novah peaked in 2020, reaching #569 nationally. Today it ranks #1004, 435 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Novah appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From novus (Latin, "new") to Novah
The story of Novah
Nova comes straight from Latin, where it was an ordinary adjective meaning "new", and it traveled into English through two doors: the scientific one, where astronomers use nova for a star that suddenly brightens, and the geographic one, where Nova Scotia has carried "New Scotland" since its seventeenth-century charter. As a given name it is a modern development, taken up in English-speaking countries and, notably, in the Netherlands and Scandinavia. Novah is newer still — an American respelling that adds the -h ending shared by Sarah, Norah and Hannah. That change is cosmetic; on the tongue the two spellings are indistinguishable.
Meaning
New (Latin)
Nova is the feminine form of Latin novus, "new". The added -h is a modern spelling choice and does not change the meaning or the sound.
How the name formed
- novusLatin, "new"
- nova
- Nova
- Novah
Related forms: Nova · Nova · Nova
Pronouncing Novah
NOH-vah
Two syllables, long o, stress on the first. The final -h is silent, so Novah and Nova sound exactly alike.
Nicknames for Novah
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
- 2006
- Most girls named
- 2020517 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #569reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- −17.8%249 in 2025, from 303
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.
Novah in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nova in English — spelling variant
- Nova in Dutch — same name
- Nova in Swedish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Georgia.
Novahs among us
people named Novah are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 6,455 born in 2025 was named Novah
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Novah
- #1004
- Novah on the 2025 chart
- #46
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Novah went to 249 girls in 2025, but Nova is the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 4,914, which makes it the 46th most-given girls’ name of the year — 958 places above the chart.
- Nova4,657
- Novah249
and 1 rarer spelling.
About 1 girl in 327 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 6,455 for Novah 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 Salma test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Novah's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Salma climbed just as high around 1999, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Salma's path sketches the road Novah is walking now.
Novah 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 Novah is headed
Novah should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Novah beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Novah in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables and one obvious pronunciation — almost anyone reading it aloud gets it right on the first try.
- The -h ending follows a pattern English speakers already know from Sarah, Norah and Hannah.
- A settled, plainly documented meaning: "new" in Latin.
- The base form Nova is in use across English-speaking countries and in the Netherlands and Scandinavia, so the name travels well.
- Rare enough in classrooms that a child is unlikely to share it with anyone.
- The h will be dropped constantly. Nova is by far the better-known spelling, so expect to correct forms, teachers and coffee cups for life.
- This spelling is a genuinely recent arrival, and it has been easing back from its high point rather than climbing. Almost everyone who carries it is still young, so there is no older generation of Novahs to lend it familiarity.
- Because it sounds identical to Nova, spelling it out loud is the only way to distinguish them — worth practicing a simple line for it.
- Its strongest footholds are in a few states rather than everywhere, so how familiar it feels depends a good deal on where you live.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Novah
Feminine · Latin roots · #1004 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Novahs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,500 people named Novah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Novah?
- Novah is one of 2 recorded spellings. Nova is the more common one — 4,657 births in 2025 against 249 for Novah.
- How popular is the name Novah in 2025?
- Novah ranks #1004 among US girl names in 2025, with 249 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Novah?
- About 1 in every 6,455 US girls born in 2025 was named Novah — 249 in all.
- Will my child share the name Novah with classmates?
- Novah will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Novah
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Adara#1004 · Safa#1004 · Mattie#1004 · Reya#1003 · Zoya#1000 · Baylee#1008 · Carly#1008 · Zayla#1008
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Novah? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Novah and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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