Girls' name · since 1942

Tova

2,750 babies named Tova in U.S. Social Security records since 1942, with the highest year being 2023. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#3,802 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#2,615 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
2,750
born since 1942
2010s
peak decade

Tova currently ranks #2615 among girls' names in America, with 2,750 babies recorded since 1942.

Tova has 2,750 recorded births among girls since 1942, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2615 as of the latest data, more common than 85% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1942 to 2025.

  • #3,802 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #2,615 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 2,750 born since 1942
  • 2010s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Tova ranks #3,802 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,615 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 2,750 born since 1942, peaking in the 2010s.

#3,802 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#2,615 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
2,750
born since 1942
2010s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%84.8%
Tova vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Tova's 2,750 recorded births place it above 94.74% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

10 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

10 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.

How Tova compares

2,750 Top 19% higher than 81% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Tova's all-time total is 7x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Tova Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 2,750 376 567,345
Peak-year births 94 21 19,840

Tova's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Tova splits its recorded history at 1988: 69% of all births land in the more recent half, 31% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1942 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2023 peak of 94 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Tova popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1942–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (2023)
94
Annual births at peak, across 84 years of records
020406080100 194219611971198119912001201120212025 66

Tova by decade

2010s is the heaviest window (574 births, 21% of the file).

2010s was Tova's strongest decade.

574 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.

Tova births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2010s at 574 births (21% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Tova compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Tova's total volume

Tova vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15%20% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -55, 4.7%-107, 6.7%-83, 3.3%-71, 9%-63, 5.4%-82, 4.6%-34, 6.9%-28, 8.3%-56, 6.5%-111, 19.1%-71, 4.4%-126, 3.1%-146, 2.5%-45, 7.2%-24, 15.3%Tova-84, 3.4%Tova
Tova vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Tova by state

Where Tova concentrates geographically, total births since 1942

Regionally concentrated
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Tova
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
795 28.9%
#2 New Jersey
351 12.8%
#3 California
121 4.4%
#4 Maryland
45 1.6%
#5 Washington
11 0.4%
#6 Illinois
6 0.2%
#7 Ohio
6 0.2%
#8 Florida
5 0.2%
New York share of Tova's total US births 28.9%
Even split

795 of 2,750 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 10 reporting states.

Tova appears in 10 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Tova?
Since 1942, Social Security records show 2,750 babies named Tova. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #3,802 of 72,339 girls' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #2,615 of 17,297 among girls. Its busiest year on record was 2023, with 94 births.
Where does Tova sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Tova ranks #3,802 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,615 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Tova most popular?
Tova was most popular in the 2010s decade with 574 total births. The single peak year was 2023.
Where is Tova most popular?
The top states for the name Tova are New York (795 births), New Jersey (351 births), California (121 births).
How long has the name Tova been used?
Tova has been recorded in Social Security data since 1942, spanning 84 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Tova?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Tovah, Tove, Tovia, Tovi, and 1 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Tova's data

  • Tova's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (574 total births) through the 2020s (433) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • New York records the most Tovas (795 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Tova

Nearby Names Like Tova

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Tova

Names with a similar popularity rank to Tova

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Tova: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1942–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Tova draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.