NameTides

Nova

Nova was the #46 girls' name in the US in 2025 (4,657 babies), and #68 in England & Wales and #87 in Canada.

Nova as a girl’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
Nova as a girl’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.01.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020ScotlandUSEngland & WalesNorthern IrelandCanadaIreland
Nova as a girl’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.01.252.53.7551880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanada
2025#46 (4,657)#68 (650)#74 (56)#121 (17)#180 (26)#87 (279)
2024#39 (5,072)#80 (603)#59 (72)#101 (20)#171 (26)#79 (294)
2023#35 (5,282)#81 (579)#70 (62)#178 (10)#364 (10)#80 (309)
2022#32 (5,927)#91 (539)#62 (68)#243 (7)#232 (19)#69 (352)
2021#32 (5,574)#101 (506)#135 (33)#237 (7)#190 (25)#72 (363)
2020#38 (5,006)#144 (352)#134 (32)#228 (7)#410 (9)#84 (295)
2019#51 (4,332)#186 (267)#97 (45)#263 (6)#271 (17)#94 (280)
2018#55 (4,174)#207 (251)#113 (42)#238 (7)#267 (17)#98 (273)
2017#94 (3,057)#273 (179)#201 (22)—#289 (16)#97 (267)
2016#136 (2,286)#400 (112)#223 (19)#440 (3)#448 (9)#128 (233)
2015#213 (1,529)#525 (82)#361 (10)—#494 (8)#191 (167)
2014#287 (1,136)#794 (49)#537 (6)—#536 (7)#297 (111)
2013#527 (567)#1,128 (31)———#382 (86)
2012#618 (463)#1,720 (17)——#907 (3)#475 (64)
2011#885 (295)#3,185 (7)#810 (3)——#625 (46)

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 2022 at #32.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • First recorded in the US in 1885.

How common is it?

about 1 in 350 baby girls in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet about 3. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USGirls2025about 1 in 350common
England & WalesGirls2025about 1 in 390common
ScotlandGirls2025about 1 in 320common
Northern IrelandGirls2025about 1 in 430common
IrelandGirls2025about 1 in 810common
CanadaGirls2025about 1 in 540common

Next year

On its recent trend, Nova is likely to hold steady in the US in 2026: about 1 in 350 baby girls. Likely range 1 in 320 to 1 in 390.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Nova by state, 2025Alaska: #29AKMaine: #68MEWisconsin: #34WIVermont: fewer than 5 babiesVTNew Hampshire: #76NHWashington: #64WAIdaho: #41IDMontana: #27MTNorth Dakota: #80NDMinnesota: #82MNIllinois: #56ILMichigan: #31MINew York: #80NYMassachusetts: #138MAOregon: #43ORNevada: #28NVWyoming: fewer than 5 babiesWYSouth Dakota: #23SDIowa: #30IAIndiana: #29INOhio: #27OHPennsylvania: #39PANew Jersey: #69NJConnecticut: #59CTRhode Island: #120RICalifornia: #93CAUtah: #52UTColorado: #65CONebraska: #53NEMissouri: #22MOKentucky: #29KYWest Virginia: #24WVVirginia: #54VAMaryland: #40MDDelaware: #14DEArizona: #49AZNew Mexico: #31NMKansas: #61KSArkansas: #17ARTennessee: #29TNNorth Carolina: #28NCSouth Carolina: #22SCDistrict of Columbia: #40DCOklahoma: #19OKLouisiana: #12LAMississippi: #9MSAlabama: #19ALGeorgia: #17GAHawaii: #19HITexas: #61TXFlorida: #39FL
Nova (girls) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Ontario2024#80121
Quebec2025#17133

Nova (girls): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
NovaCanadaGirls#87279
NovaCanadaBoys#1,44316
NovaEngland & WalesGirls#68650
NovaEngland & WalesBoys#1,46618
NovaIrelandGirls#18026
NovaNorthern IrelandGirls#12117
NovaNorthern IrelandBoys—too few
NovaScotlandGirls#7456
NovaScotlandBoys—too few
NovaUSGirls#464,657
NovaUSBoys#1,305149