How popular is the baby name Neveah in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Neveah.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Neveah


Posts that Mention the Name Neveah

The Nevaeh Explosion

Sonny Sandoval and daughter Nevaeh, 2000, MTV Cribs
The Nevaeh that kicked things off.

We only have a few more weeks to play with the current baby name data, so how about we use it to check out the name Nevaeh and its many variants?

Nevaeh was almost unheard of before the year 2000. The earliest Nevaeh I’ve found was born in 1904, and only a handful were born between then and the mid-1990s.

The name managed to see enough usage in 1997 to debut on the SSA’s national baby name list (which has a 5-baby cut-off). It wasn’t set to become the Next Big Thing, though, until MTV shined a spotlight on it.

In late 2000, rock band P.O.D. was featured on one of the first episodes of MTV Cribs. Vocalist Paul Joshua “Sonny” Sandoval decided to bring along his baby daughter Nevaeh [vid], saying:

This is Nevaeh right here, that’s heaven spelled backwards. She’s my first, she’s 6 months old.

Usage of the baby name exploded after that. And Nevaeh’s sudden trendiness gave rise to all sorts of variants.

The following graph shows how many baby girls in the U.S. have been given the name Navaeh or a variant since the late 1990s:

Variants of the baby name Nevaeh

(Name-specific popularity graphs: Nevaeh, Neveah, Navaeh, Nevaeha, Naveah, Neviah, Niveah, Navaya, Nevayah, Nevah, Nevaya, Naviah, Naveyah, Neaveh, Navayah, Naveya, Navea, Navah, Nevae, Nevea, Naviyah, Neveyah, Navae, Neviyah, Naevia, Naviya, Neveaha, Nivaeh, Nivaya, Niviah, Nyveah, Nevaiah, Neveya, Niveyah, Niveya, Navaiah, Neavah, Nyvaeh, Nevaha, Navaeha, Nevaehia.)

And that’s not all. Hundreds of other babies were given names with that unorthodox “-aeh” ending:

Baby names ending with -vaeh like Nevaeh

(Name-specific popularity graphs: Lavaeh, Javaeh, Devaeh, Jevaeh, Levaeh, Sevaeh, Anevaeh, Avaeh, Davaeh, Savaeh, Kevaeh, Tyvaeh, Evaeh and Zevaeh. Navaeh, Nivaeh and Nyvaeh were listed above.)

If you remember my Jayden post, though, you know that upward trends can’t last forever.

In terms of raw usage, Nevaeh’s best year on record was 2007. In terms of rank, it peaked at 25th in 2010 — a decade after that fateful MTV Cribs episode aired. Since then, though, the name has been losing steam.

YearNevaeh: RankingNevaeh: Number
201239th5,392 girls
201133rd6,106 girls
201025th6,425 girls
200934th6,107 girls
200834th6,105 girls
200731st6,809 girls
200643rd5,944 girls

And this makes me wonder…now that it’s no longer on the rise, now that we’ve had a few years to get used to it, is Nevaeh less reviled today than it once was?

If you were a Nevaeh-hater in the beginning, are you still as adamantly against the name today? Or do you find it more tolerable now?

Flipping Words into First Names

We’ve talked about flipping surnames into forenames before. What about flipping other words into forenames? Here are four real-life examples:

Alucard = Dracula, backwards. If you like the vampire associations of Lestat and Renesmee, Alucard might be right up your alley. At least 25 US baby boys have been named Alucard:

  • 2012: 6 baby boys named Alucard
  • …
  • 2009: 5 baby boys named Alucard
  • …
  • 2007: 7 baby boys named Alucard
  • 2006: 7 baby boys named Alucard

Nacirema = American, backwards. At least 5 US baby girls have been named Nacirema:

  • 2009: 5 baby girls named Nacirema

Nevaeh = Heaven, backwards. From a mere 5 baby girls in 1997 to the massive numbers below, at least at least 55,677 US baby girls (and 357 boys!) have been named Nevaeh:

  • 2011: 5,317 baby girls named Nevaeh (39th)
  • 2011: 6,056 baby girls and 17 baby boys named Nevaeh (35th)
  • 2010: 6,391 baby girls and 16 baby boys named Nevaeh (25th)
  • 2009: 6,082 baby girls and 27 baby boys named Nevaeh (34th)
  • 2008: 6,082 baby girls and 36 baby boys named Nevaeh (34th)
  • 2007: 6,790 baby girls and 38 baby boys named Nevaeh (31st)
  • 2006: 5,927 baby girls and 45 baby boys named Nevaeh (43rd)

And don’t forget all the variant forms: Nevaeha, Anevaeh, Nevaehlee, Nevaehly, Nevaehia, Neveah, Neveaha, Nevayah, Neviah, Nevaya, Neveyah, Nevea, Nevae, Neviyah, Nevaha, Neveya, Navaeh, Naveah, Naveyah, Navayah, Navea, Naviyah, Naveya, Naviya, Navaeha, Niveah, Nivaeh, etc. Speaking of variant forms, how about…

Nevaehtnes = Sent Heaven, backwards. Though I’m sure these parents had “Heaven-sent” in mind. At least 5 US baby girls have been named Nevaehtnes:

  • 2010: 5 baby girls named Nevaehtnes

I blogged about this one as soon as I discovered it.

Know of any other word-flip baby names? Or, can you invent one off the top of your head?

Tastes in Baby Names – United States vs. England

What are the differences between the U.S. and England in terms of baby-naming preferences?

Here are some trends I noticed looking at the 100 most popular girl and boy names for each country:

  • New vs. Old

Parents in the U.S. embraced modern names (Brayden, Chase, Kayla, Kaylee, Mackenzie, Makayla), whereas those in England tended to opt for more old-fashioned names (Eleanor, Eloise, Elliot, Harriet, Harvey, Imogen).

  • Cultural Influence

A large number of Spanish names (Alejandro, Carlos, Diego, Juan, Luis, Miguel) were given to U.S. boys, whereas smaller numbers of Irish, Muslim, Scottish, Welsh, Nordic and French names (Niamh, Mohammad, Callum, Rhys, Freya, Amelie) were given to both boys and girls in England.

  • Nickname-names in England

Nicknames were very popular as given names for English boys (Alfie, Archie, Ben, Billy, Charlie, Freddie, Sam) and girls (Abbie, Demi, Ellie, Libby, Millie, Tilly).

  • Religious Names in the U.S.

Both biblical names (Caleb, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus, Mary) and generally religious names (Angel, Christian, Neveah, Trinity) were common in the U.S.

In truth, though, the top names for each country were largely similar. Going by exact spellings, the two lists of girl names had 37 names in common, and the two lists of boy names had 49 names in common.

Finally, here are a few other little things I noticed:

  • Morgan was in the top 100 for U.S. girls, English girls, and English boys last year — almost a Grand Slam. :)
  • In terms of season names, English parents prefer Summer and U.S. parents prefer Autumn.
  • Victoria ranked in the U.S., but not in England–ironic, no?

(A recent comment by Tirzah was the inspiration for this post.)

Newbie Names Among the Most Popular of 2006

As I scanned through the 1,000 most popular baby names of 2006, I saw a number of new additions. This list doesn’t include all of them, just the ones that jumped out at me.

  • Bethzy, #878 for girls
  • Dahlia, #988 for girls – from the flower named after Anders Dahl.
  • Izayah, #976 for boys – a creative take on Isaiah.
  • Jorja, #969 for girls – a form of Georgia (perhaps popularized by CSI actress Jorja Fox).
  • Neveah, #996 for girls – Nevaeh corrected for pronunciation.
  • Paisley, #835 for girls – not just a pattern anymore.
  • Sanai, #974 for girls – inspired by the biblical Mt. Sinai.
  • Scarlet, #843 for girls – a simplified version of Scarlett.
  • Yandel, #674 for boys
  • Yaretzi, #837 for girls – likely an alteration of Yaritza.
  • Zayden, #871 for boys – ’twas just a matter of time before the unique first letter craze and the -ayden craze hooked up.

I also saw a number of interesting second-timers, including Imanol (969th for boys) and Yuridia (894th for girls).