New Baby Name

Nova

Girl · Latin

Nova

Say it: NOH-vuh

Try it with your surname

Meaning

From Latin nova 'new', also the astronomical term for a suddenly brightening star.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

Used modestly in the US around 1900, it returned strongly in the 2010s.

Its wave through time

Rising now

In the United States

0123418801900192019401960198020002020Girls 2020Boys 2020per 1,000 babies of that sex
  • 31,238 babies given this name since 1880
  • At its height in 2020, about 1 in 324 girls
  • 5,255 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
  2. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

AmericanSwedish

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.