Nova
Nova was given to 4,657 girls in 2025, #46 among girls’ names; 59,010 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 55,700 Americans named Nova and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (94% of everyone recorded); the median is 6 years old and half are between 3 and 9.
Nova came back: it left the girls’ top 1,000 after 1938 and returned in 2011.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nova by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nova mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Nova is “a female given name from Latin.” Its etymology gives the sense “new” (nova).
From Latin nova (“new”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nova?
#46 among girls’ names, 2025
Nova rose from #213 in 2015 to #46 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.86 to 2.9 per 1,000.
6,198 babies in 2022, the peak
Nova peaked in 2022, when 6,198 babies were given it (5,927 girls, #32 among girls’ names). The 4,806 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 78% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,657 | #46 | 2.9 |
| 2024 | 5,072 | #39 | 3.1 |
| 2023 | 5,282 | #35 | 3.3 |
| 2022 | 5,927 | #32 | 3.6 |
| 2021 | 5,574 | #32 | 3.4 |
| 2020 | 5,006 | #38 | 3.1 |
| 2019 | 4,332 | #51 | 2.6 |
| 2018 | 4,174 | #55 | 2.5 |
| 2017 | 3,057 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 2016 | 2,286 | #136 | 1.3 |
Every recorded year (141)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,529 | #213 | 0.86 |
| 2014 | 1,136 | #287 | 0.64 |
| 2013 | 567 | #527 | 0.32 |
| 2012 | 463 | #618 | 0.26 |
| 2011 | 295 | #886 | 0.17 |
| 2010 | 218 | #1,129 | 0.12 |
| 2009 | 231 | #1,105 | 0.13 |
| 2008 | 178 | #1,365 | 0.09 |
| 2007 | 147 | #1,553 | 0.08 |
| 2006 | 106 | #1,916 | 0.06 |
| 2005 | 103 | #1,888 | 0.06 |
| 2004 | 114 | #1,709 | 0.06 |
| 2003 | 99 | #1,869 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 91 | #1,949 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 86 | #1,988 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 66 | #2,358 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 55 | #2,594 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 54 | #2,554 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 38 | #3,134 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 24 | #4,418 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 22 | #4,633 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 19 | #5,173 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 21 | #4,753 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 11 | #7,867 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 20 | #4,939 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 25 | #4,080 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 16 | #5,472 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 19 | #4,605 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 20 | #4,230 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 26 | #3,429 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 38 | #2,578 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 36 | #2,607 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 36 | #2,540 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 50 | #2,072 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 53 | #2,002 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 66 | #1,716 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 70 | #1,620 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 56 | #1,817 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 85 | #1,343 | 0.06 |
| 1976 | 65 | #1,559 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 57 | #1,686 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 53 | #1,721 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 48 | #1,799 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 58 | #1,585 | 0.04 |
| 1971 | 46 | #1,897 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 51 | #1,773 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 36 | #2,125 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 29 | #2,276 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 35 | #1,998 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 38 | #1,873 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 35 | #1,977 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 50 | #1,626 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 72 | #1,303 | 0.04 |
| 1962 | 50 | #1,602 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 23 | #2,588 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 34 | #1,969 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 21 | #2,570 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 19 | #2,727 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 26 | #2,203 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 31 | #1,959 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 39 | #1,659 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 27 | #2,060 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 25 | #2,108 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 33 | #1,735 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 33 | #1,689 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 29 | #1,786 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 42 | #1,431 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 44 | #1,399 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 34 | #1,655 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 33 | #1,549 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 27 | #1,611 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 29 | #1,536 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 39 | #1,314 | 0.03 |
| 1942 | 42 | #1,243 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 35 | #1,304 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 44 | #1,094 | 0.04 |
| 1939 | 49 | #1,019 | 0.04 |
| 1938 | 68 | #860 | 0.06 |
| 1937 | 53 | #961 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 56 | #920 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 72 | #804 | 0.07 |
| 1934 | 78 | #762 | 0.07 |
| 1933 | 58 | #891 | 0.06 |
| 1932 | 73 | #799 | 0.07 |
| 1931 | 75 | #783 | 0.07 |
| 1930 | 75 | #821 | 0.07 |
| 1929 | 104 | #690 | 0.09 |
| 1928 | 84 | #783 | 0.07 |
| 1927 | 77 | #846 | 0.06 |
| 1926 | 75 | #859 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 94 | #767 | 0.08 |
| 1924 | 89 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1923 | 80 | #823 | 0.07 |
| 1922 | 86 | #788 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 91 | #768 | 0.07 |
| 1920 | 111 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1919 | 87 | #755 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 79 | #805 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 85 | #756 | 0.08 |
| 1916 | 81 | #765 | 0.08 |
| 1915 | 69 | #796 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 47 | #863 | 0.06 |
| 1913 | 59 | #675 | 0.09 |
| 1912 | 54 | #685 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 36 | #730 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 32 | #764 | 0.08 |
| 1909 | 39 | #633 | 0.11 |
| 1908 | 36 | #643 | 0.11 |
| 1907 | 32 | #677 | 0.10 |
| 1906 | 27 | #712 | 0.09 |
| 1905 | 30 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1904 | 24 | #722 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 21 | #754 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 18 | #838 | 0.07 |
| 1901 | 23 | #679 | 0.10 |
| 1900 | 29 | #670 | 0.10 |
| 1899 | 20 | #722 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 30 | #594 | 0.12 |
| 1897 | 18 | #754 | 0.08 |
| 1896 | 24 | #647 | 0.10 |
| 1895 | 20 | #720 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 18 | #714 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 9 | #1,071 | 0.04 |
| 1892 | 20 | #659 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 13 | #779 | 0.07 |
| 1890 | 15 | #711 | 0.08 |
| 1889 | 12 | #787 | 0.07 |
| 1888 | 15 | #683 | 0.08 |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,122 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 7 | #966 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 12 | #652 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Nova a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 59,010 Americans recorded as Nova, 95% are girls and 5% boys. In 2025 it went to 4,657 girls and 149 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Nova: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nova, and how old are they?
55,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 94% of the 59,010 Americans ever recorded as Nova. The median Nova alive today is 6 years old; half are between 3 and 9.
The 2020 Census counted 21,292 people named Nova (19,661 women and girls, 1,631 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 24,578 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 264 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 527 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 798 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 445 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,700 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 50,900 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Nova born?
The states with the most babies named Nova are Texas, California and Florida, with 23% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 430 | #61 | 0.8× |
| California | 335 | #93 | 0.7× |
| Florida | 334 | #39 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 219 | #19 | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 217 | #28 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 211 | #29 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 184 | #40 | 0.9× |
| New York | 181 | #80 | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 156 | #32 | 1.0× |
| Tennessee | 149 | #29 | 1.1× |
Where Nova is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nova is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Nova with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 64,270 babies since 1880, Nova is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 4,806 of their 5,197 babies (92%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Nova
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Nova and names like it
- Compare Nova and NovahBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sNova peaked in 2022.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nova since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Nova: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2022The year the most babies were named Nova.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Nova alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with NMost given first.