Novella
Novella was given to 69 girls in 2025, #2,559 among girls’ names; 6,272 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,350 Americans named Novella and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (38% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 12 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Novella by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Novella mean?
Wiktionary, Italian section
Novella is “a female given name” Its etymology gives the sense “new, early” (novello).
From novella, feminine form of novello (“new, early”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, Italian section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Novella?
#2,559 among girls’ names, 2025
Novella rose from #4,206 in 2015 to #2,559 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 19.6 to 42.9 per million.
186 babies in 1923, the peak
Novella peaked in 1923, when 186 girls were given it, #513 among girls’ names. The 69 births of 2025 are 37% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 69 | #2,559 | 0.04 |
| 2024 | 44 | #3,560 | 0.03 |
| 2023 | 64 | #2,726 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 58 | #2,917 | 0.04 |
| 2021 | 51 | #3,200 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 47 | #3,324 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 66 | #2,643 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 53 | #3,091 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 49 | #3,287 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 41 | #3,761 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (140)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 35 | #4,206 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 47 | #3,405 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 26 | #5,268 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 28 | #5,076 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 33 | #4,441 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 27 | #5,208 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 25 | #5,666 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 28 | #5,240 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 19 | #7,020 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 6 | #15,913 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 7 | #13,805 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 6 | #15,248 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 9 | #10,847 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 7 | #13,102 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 7 | #12,776 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 8 | #11,092 | under 0.01 |
| 1998 | 9 | #9,878 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 6 | #13,264 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 8 | #10,260 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 6 | #12,942 | under 0.01 |
| 1993 | 8 | #10,274 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 13 | #6,931 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 7 | #11,119 | under 0.01 |
| 1990 | 7 | #11,030 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 9 | #8,528 | under 0.01 |
| 1987 | 10 | #7,178 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 7 | #9,266 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 13 | #5,577 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 12 | #5,781 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 11 | #6,089 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 17 | #4,475 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 6 | #9,990 | under 0.01 |
| 1980 | 14 | #5,150 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 12 | #5,642 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 13 | #5,122 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 12 | #5,433 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 12 | #5,102 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 10 | #5,842 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 14 | #4,381 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 24 | #2,888 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 30 | #2,434 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 32 | #2,412 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 19 | #3,400 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 30 | #2,385 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 30 | #2,228 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 34 | #2,032 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 25 | #2,438 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 28 | #2,282 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 36 | #1,998 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 33 | #2,088 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 35 | #1,977 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 37 | #1,908 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 41 | #1,782 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 43 | #1,685 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 41 | #1,694 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 43 | #1,647 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 39 | #1,710 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 51 | #1,415 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 57 | #1,328 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 40 | #1,554 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 36 | #1,629 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 53 | #1,286 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 41 | #1,444 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 49 | #1,315 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 60 | #1,168 | 0.04 |
| 1947 | 52 | #1,262 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 55 | #1,159 | 0.04 |
| 1945 | 57 | #1,028 | 0.04 |
| 1944 | 53 | #1,075 | 0.04 |
| 1943 | 58 | #1,059 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 71 | #935 | 0.05 |
| 1941 | 74 | #850 | 0.06 |
| 1940 | 67 | #873 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 88 | #726 | 0.08 |
| 1938 | 78 | #800 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 72 | #813 | 0.07 |
| 1936 | 77 | #775 | 0.07 |
| 1935 | 69 | #829 | 0.07 |
| 1934 | 80 | #750 | 0.08 |
| 1933 | 94 | #676 | 0.09 |
| 1932 | 108 | #645 | 0.10 |
| 1931 | 90 | #707 | 0.08 |
| 1930 | 101 | #688 | 0.09 |
| 1929 | 111 | #665 | 0.10 |
| 1928 | 100 | #708 | 0.09 |
| 1927 | 126 | #641 | 0.11 |
| 1926 | 118 | #668 | 0.10 |
| 1925 | 124 | #663 | 0.10 |
| 1924 | 148 | #618 | 0.12 |
| 1923 | 186 | #513 | 0.15 |
| 1922 | 143 | #608 | 0.12 |
| 1921 | 140 | #623 | 0.11 |
| 1920 | 118 | #668 | 0.10 |
| 1919 | 146 | #575 | 0.13 |
| 1918 | 107 | #695 | 0.09 |
| 1917 | 123 | #618 | 0.11 |
| 1916 | 107 | #661 | 0.10 |
| 1915 | 113 | #621 | 0.11 |
| 1914 | 88 | #610 | 0.12 |
| 1913 | 70 | #622 | 0.11 |
| 1912 | 73 | #565 | 0.13 |
| 1911 | 63 | #526 | 0.15 |
| 1910 | 49 | #601 | 0.12 |
| 1909 | 42 | #605 | 0.12 |
| 1908 | 42 | #580 | 0.13 |
| 1907 | 40 | #584 | 0.13 |
| 1906 | 43 | #537 | 0.15 |
| 1905 | 47 | #494 | 0.16 |
| 1904 | 37 | #555 | 0.13 |
| 1903 | 32 | #586 | 0.12 |
| 1902 | 20 | #789 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 28 | #599 | 0.12 |
| 1900 | 35 | #599 | 0.12 |
| 1899 | 19 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 20 | #766 | 0.08 |
| 1897 | 21 | #695 | 0.09 |
| 1896 | 21 | #702 | 0.09 |
| 1895 | 19 | #737 | 0.08 |
| 1894 | 14 | #839 | 0.06 |
| 1893 | 12 | #893 | 0.06 |
| 1892 | 17 | #719 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 13 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1890 | 7 | #1,172 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 14 | #712 | 0.08 |
| 1888 | 12 | #782 | 0.07 |
| 1887 | 8 | #923 | 0.05 |
| 1886 | 9 | #813 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 8 | #832 | 0.06 |
| 1883 | 6 | #893 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 6 | #874 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Novella a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Novella has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 140 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Novella: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Novella, and how old are they?
2,350 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 38% of the 6,272 Americans ever recorded as Novella. The median Novella alive today is 56 years old; half are between 12 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 2,130 people named Novella (2,125 women and girls, 5 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,443 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 | 382 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 644 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 312 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 130 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 223 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 646 |
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 Novella born?
The states with the most babies named Novella are North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee, with 56% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Tennessee is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 679 | not ranked | 3.5× |
| Texas | 399 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Tennessee | 383 | not ranked | 2.6× |
| Virginia | 281 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Kentucky | 175 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Alabama | 140 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Arkansas | 125 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Oklahoma | 123 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 73 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Illinois | 50 | #1,571 | 0.2× |
Where Novella is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Novella is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 3.5 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 Novella 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 6,546 babies since 1880, Novella is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 69 of their 83 babies (83%), 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 Novella
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 Novella and names like it
- Compare Novella and NovelleBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sNovella peaked in 1923.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Novella since 1910.
- Italian namesWiktionary’s origin for Novella: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1923The year the most babies were named Novella.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Novella alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with NMost given first.