How popular is the baby name Nova in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Nova.

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Popularity of the baby name Nova


Posts that mention the name Nova

Top first letters of U.S. baby names, 2020

Wondering which first letters were the most popular in 2020?

For baby girls, the most-used first letter was A, followed by E and M. The least-used first letter was U. More than 272,000 baby girls got an A-name last year, whereas fewer than 700 got a U-name.

Top first letters of female baby names in the U.S. in 2020.

The three most-used girl names per letter last year were…

  • A: Ava, Amelia, Abigail
  • B: Brooklyn, Bella, Brielle
  • C: Charlotte, Camila, Chloe
  • D: Delilah, Daisy, Daniela
  • E: Emma, Evelyn, Ella
  • F: Faith, Freya, Finley
  • G: Gianna, Grace, Genesis
  • H: Harper, Hazel, Hannah
  • I: Isabella, Isla, Ivy
  • J: Josephine, Jade, Julia
  • K: Kinsley, Kennedy, Kaylee
  • L: Luna, Layla, Lily
  • M: Mia, Mila, Madison
  • N: Nora, Nova, Natalie
  • O: Olivia, Olive, Oakley
  • P: Penelope, Paisley, Piper
  • Q: Quinn, Queen, Quincy
  • R: Riley, Ruby, Rylee
  • S: Sophia, Sofia, Scarlett
  • T: Taylor, Teagan, Trinity
  • U: Unique, Uma, Una
  • V: Victoria, Violet, Valentina
  • W: Willow, Winter, Willa
  • X: Ximena, Xiomara, Xena
  • Y: Yaretzi, Yara, Yareli
  • Z: Zoey, Zoe, Zara

For baby boys, the most-used first letter was J, followed by A and L. The least-used first letter was, again, U. More than 205,000 baby boys got a J-name last year, whereas fewer than 2,500 got a U-name.

Top first letters of male baby names in the U.S. in 2020.

The three most-used boy names per letter last year were…

  • A: Alexander, Aiden, Asher
  • B: Benjamin, Brooks, Bennett
  • C: Carter, Charles, Christopher
  • D: Daniel, David, Dylan
  • E: Elijah, Ethan, Ezra
  • F: Finn, Felix, Francisco
  • G: Grayson, Gabriel, Greyson
  • H: Henry, Hudson, Hunter
  • I: Isaac, Isaiah, Ian
  • J: James, Jacob, Jackson
  • K: Kai, Kayden, Kingston
  • L: Liam, Lucas, Logan
  • M: Mason, Michael, Mateo
  • N: Noah, Nathan, Nolan
  • O: Oliver, Owen, Oscar
  • P: Parker, Patrick, Peter
  • Q: Quinn, Quentin, Quincy
  • R: Ryan, Roman, Robert
  • S: Sebastian, Samuel, Santiago
  • T: Theodore, Thomas, Tyler
  • U: Uriel, Uriah, Ulises
  • V: Vincent, Victor, Valentino
  • W: William, Wyatt, Wesley
  • X: Xavier, Xander, Xzavier
  • Y: Yusuf, Yosef, Yehuda
  • Z: Zachary, Zion, Zayden

Finally, here are the totals for girls and boys side-by-side on the same chart:

Top first letters of baby names in the U.S. in 2020.

Overall, the top first letter was A and the least popular first letter was (of course!) U.

Popular girl names in the United States, 2020

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The 2020 batch of U.S. baby names was released by the SSA this morning!

I’ve been toying with the data for a few hours and, in this post and the next, I’ll give you some of the highlights.

Here are the most popular girl names overall:

  1. Olivia, 17,535 baby girls
  2. Emma, 15,581
  3. Ava, 13,084
  4. Charlotte, 13,003
  5. Sophia, 12,976
  6. Amelia, 12,704
  7. Isabella, 12,066
  8. Mia, 11,157
  9. Evelyn, 9,445
  10. Harper, 8,778

These ten names were also in the 2019 top ten.

The girl names that saw the largest increases in usage in terms of absolute numbers of babies were…

  1. Gianna, increased by 4,414 babies
  2. Alaia, 654
  3. Nova, 635
  4. Isla, 500
  5. Haisley, 451
  6. Oaklynn, 406
  7. Kehlani, 387
  8. Ariella, 374
  9. Maeve, 337
  10. Natalia, 332

Gianna was influenced by the tragic death of Gianna Bryant, daughter of Kobe Bryant.

The girl names that saw the largest increases in usage in terms of relative numbers of babies were…

  1. Ehlani, increased by 2,100%
  2. Anayra, 483%
  3. Nihan, 482%
  4. Xiamara, 460%
  5. Kiora, 440%
  6. Yahri, 420%
  7. Alessi, 418%
  8. Eryss, 400%
  9. Gianina, 400%
  10. Giannina, 400%

Some explanations…

  • Ehlani is the daughter of social media influencer Elsy Guevara. (Commenter alex called this one months ago. Here’s Ehlani’s “name reveal” video, from May 2020.)
  • Anayra could be from Anayra Sharma, the baby of Indian comedian/celebrity Kapil Sharma (who has 32 million Instagram followers and 18 million twitter followers).
  • Alessi is the daughter of Siesta Key cast member Alex Kompothecras.
  • Eryss is the daughter of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta cast member Erica Dixon.
  • Giannina was a contestant on the reality TV show Love is Blind.

Here are the girl names that debuted most impressively in the 2020 data:

  1. Dalett, debuted with 94 baby girls
  2. Cennet, 84
  3. Ulanni, 44
  4. Souline, 36
  5. Amavi, 30 (this one double-debuted, actually, with 12 boys as well)
  6. Ayzal, 30
  7. Brixleigh, 19
  8. Kazleigh, 19
  9. Yoatzi, 19
  10. Morwenna, 16

Some explanations…

  • Dalett is the third child (born in May, 2020) of Larrymania stars Larry and Kenia Hernandez. (Their older daughters are Daleyza and Dalary.)
  • Cennet is the main character of the Telemundo show Cennet, which looks to be a remake of a Turkish show (Cennet’in Gözyaslari) from a few years earlier. The name means “heaven” in Turkish.
  • Yoatzi is probably from YouTuber Yoatzi Castro.
  • Morwenna might be from the most recent adaptation of Poldark. (Supporting evidence: the name Demelza returned to the data a few years ago.)

The girl names that saw the largest decreases in usage in terms of absolute numbers of babies were…

  1. Harper, decreased by 1,686 babies
  2. Emma, -1,574
  3. Ava, -1,390
  4. Emily, -1,373
  5. Abigail, -1,317
  6. Mia, -1,295
  7. Isabella, -1,278
  8. Victoria, -1,103
  9. Aria, -994
  10. Olivia, -973

The girl name that saw the largest decrease in usage in terms of relative numbers of babies was Diala (-81%), and the girl name that saw the steepest drop off the list was Yarishna (from 28 babies in 2019 to fewer than 5 in 2020).

If you can explain any of the rises (or drops), please leave a comment!

Sources: SSA, Olivia and Liam are Social Security’s Top Baby Names for 2020 – SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)

[Latest update: 5/11/2021]

Popular baby names in Monroe County (Michigan), 2020

A few days ago, a reporter with the Monroe News (of Monroe County, Michigan) tallied up all the baby names mentioned in the paper’s 2020 birth announcements. The most frequently occurring names for girls were Abigail and Ava (tie), and for boys was Asher.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I don’t tend to post rankings from non-governmental sources. But, again, this set had a relatively high number of names (451) compared to the size of the county (about 150,000 residents), so here’s the full list…

Girl Names

4 baby girls named:

  • Abigail
  • Ava

3 baby girls named:

  • Athena
  • Charlotte
  • Emma
  • Madison
  • Paisley
  • Quinn

2 baby girls named:

  • Allie
  • Allison
  • Amelia
  • Eleanor
  • Elena
  • Elizabeth
  • Elliana
  • Evelynn
  • Everly
  • Hadleigh
  • Harper
  • Hazel
  • Isla
  • Layla
  • Mia
  • Nova
  • Ruby
  • Sadie
  • Sophia
  • Sophie
  • Violet

1 baby girl named:

Ada, Addaleigh, Addilynn-Rose, Adorabella, Alice, Alicia, Alita, Aliva, Alora, Alyssa, A’Meila, Amirah, Amiyah, Anastasia, Aranea, Arya, Ashlynn, Aubree, Aubrey, Aurora, Avery, Bailey, Bexley, Blakely, Brielle, Brooke, Brooklyn, Brylee, Brynn, Caia, Caiya, Camilleia, Caralena, Caroline, Cattleya, Charlynn, Claire, Cora, Dahlia, Da’yana, Delaney, Eliannah, Eliza, Ellanorah, Ellie, Ellison, Ember, Emersyn, Emmarie, Emory, Evangeline, Evie, Evodia, Faith, Genevieve, Georgia, Giovanni, Gracelyn, Gracie, Gwendolyn, Haisley, Harleigh, Harlow, Harmony, HaVen, Hayzlee, Illia, Inija, Isabel, Ivy, Iylah, Jade, Janie, Jessika, Jolee, Jolene, Joni, Jordynn, Josephine, Journae, Julianna, Kaisley, Kansas, Kendelyn, Kennedy, Kensly, Klara, Kolumbiia, Laney, Leia, Lexi, Lexie, Lila, Lillian, Lily, Lively, Logan, Luciana, Lucille, Lucina, Luna, Maeve, Mahogany, Marianna, Marilyn, Marissa, Maryszka, McKenna, Mercy, Mila, Moselle, Mya, Naomi, Nora, Novalee, Omora, Ophelia, Ora, Penelope, Prudence, Raelyn, Reese, Renlee, Rhythm, Riann, Ripley, River, Roise, Rosalie, Rosemary, Ryalin, Ryleigh, Scarlett, Sedona, Shawna, Shelby, Sinya, Skyla, Skylynn, Stella, Stellana, Skyla, Tiffany, Vayda, Victoria, Ziggy, Zoe, Zoey, Zuri

Notably: “The No. 1 girl name in 2019, Olivia, wasn’t reported to The News last year.”

Boy Names

5 baby boys named:

  • Asher

4 baby boys named:

  • Wesley

3 baby boys named:

  • Andrew
  • Brooks
  • Hudson
  • John
  • Liam
  • Oliver
  • Preston
  • Roman
  • William

2 baby boys named:

  • Arthur
  • Benjamin
  • Bentley
  • Brody
  • Bryson
  • Carson
  • Connor
  • Dallas
  • Declan
  • Donald
  • Easton
  • Emmett
  • Finn
  • Henry
  • Jameson
  • Jaxon
  • Joseph
  • Kai
  • Lucas
  • Nicholas
  • Parker
  • Raiden
  • Samuel
  • Travis
  • Trevor
  • Waylon
  • Wyatt

1 baby boy named:

Adrian, Amon, Anderson, Anthony, Archer, Armani, Ashton, Atlas, Axel, Beau, Blake, Bode, Bodie, Bowie, Boyd, Bradley, Brady, Braxton, Braziel, Bryant, Carl, Carnell, Carter, Cassius, Cayden, Charles, Charlie, Christopher, Clayton, Cohen, Cole, Colson, Colt, Colten, Conner, Craig, Cruz, Dakota, Darius, David, Dean, Denver, Dominick, Dylan, Edwin, Elijah, Eliott, Emanuel, Emmerich, Enzo, Erik, Eudon, Finney, Forrest, Fulton, Gabriel, Gage, Giovani, Giovanni, Greyson, Griffyn, Henrik, Howard, Hunter, Jace, Jackson, Jaden, James, Jared, Javiah, Jaxson, Jayceon, Jayden, Jensen, Jonah, Jordan, Josiyah, Julian, Kaine, Kairo, Kane, Kayden, Kaynen, Khalil, Kirk, Koda, Kolton, Kyair, Kyren, Laurence, Lawrence, Leon, Leopold, Levi, Lincoln, Logan, Luca, Lyric, Mack, Magnus, Malachi, Marshaine, Mason, Maverick, Maveryck, Maximus, Michael, Miles, Murphy, Nickolas, Owen, Patrick, Promise, Reece, Remy, Renlee, Rhett, Richard, Rockwood, Rowan, Rubin, Russell, Ryan, Ryder, Ryker, Sebastian, Senan, Silas, Skyler, Spencer, Tate, Thatcher, Theodore, Thomas, Trenton, Valentino, Vincent, Vincenzo, Wylder, Xander, Xavier, Zachary, Zaidyn, Zeppelin

Source: Wisler, Suzanne Nolan. “Monroe County’s baby names for 2020.” Monroe News 17 Jan. 2021.

Popular baby names in Casper (Wyoming), 2020

In 2020, the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper welcomed 892 babies. The names of about 620 of these babies were shared online via the hospital’s website. A few days ago, the hospital “mined those announcements for our most popular names list for 2020,” finding that the most frequently occurring names for girls was Paisley and for boys was Jackson.

I don’t usually post rankings from non-governmental sources, but, in this case, there were just so many names in comparison to the size of the city (about 58,000 residents) that I decided to go ahead and publish the full list…

10 babies named:

  • Jackson (Jaxen, Jaxon, Jaxson, Jaxxon)

7 babies named:

  • Logan
  • Oliver
  • Paisley (Paizlee, Paizleigh)

6 babies named:

  • Adaline (Adeline, Adalyn, Adalynn, Addilynn)
  • Amelia (Emelia, Emilia)
  • Emma
  • Grayson
  • Reilly (Rieleigh, Riely, Riley, Ryleigh)
  • Sawyer

5 babies named:

  • Cooper
  • Everlee (Everleigh, Everly)
  • Oakleigh (Oakley)
  • Theodore

4 babies named:

  • Addison (Addyson)
  • Asher
  • Ava
  • Benjamin
  • Caysen (Kasen, Kason)
  • Charlie (Charlee, Charles)
  • Everette
  • Isabella (Izabella, Izzabella)
  • Kinsleigh (Kinsley)
  • Nathan
  • Wyatt

3 babies named:

Adrian, Alexander, Ashton (Ashtyn), Aspen, Aurora, Bennett, Blake (Blayke), Bristol, Brixley (Brixleigh, Brixli), Brooklyn, Carter, Christian, David, Declan (Deklynn), Elijah, Elizabeth, Ella, Ellie, Ethan, Ezra, Grace, Hunter, Holden, Jack, Layla, Leo, Liam, Lyla (Lilah), Lincoln, Lorenzo, Lydia, Lyra, Mason, Noah, Olivia, Owen, Richard, Rilynn (Ryelin, Ryelynn), Rowan (Rowen), Ryker, Skyla, Sophia (Sofia)

2 babies named:

Aiden/Aidyn, Allison/Alyson, Amara, Annabelle, Arya, Aubriella, Averie/Avery, Barrett, Bentley, Bodhi/Bodie, Braxton, Bryar/Bryor, Brynlee, Caroline, Carson/Karson, Catherine/Katherine, Colt, Colten/Colton, Damian, Daniel, Daxton, Dayton, Dylan, Eli, Eliana, Elliot, Emerson/Emersyn, Emery/Emory, Evelyn, Finley, Gabriella, Gentry, Harmony, Harper, Harrison, Haven/Hayven, Hayden, Hazel, Hazely/Hazleigh, Henry, Hudson, Ian, Isaac, Isaiah, Islah/Islla, Jasper, Jaxtyn, Jayden, Joel, Julian, Julius, Justin, Kaiser/Kaizer, Kamara, Kaysen/Kayson, Kellen, Kennedi/Kenydee, Kenzlee/Kenzleigh, Kinley/Kynleigh, Kyran/Kyren, Leighton/Leyten, Lenix/Lennox, Levi, Lorelai/Lorelei, Madeline/Madelyn, Malachi, Malaya/Maleah, Maria/Meriah, Maverick, Maya, Mila, Miles, Millie, Naomi, Natalia, Nevaeh, Parker, Paul, Penelope, Rachael/Rachel, Rae/Rey, Raylan, Ronan, Ryder, Samantha, Samuel, Sara/Sarah, Savanna/Savannah, Scarlett, Sebastian, Silas/Sylias, Skylar/Skyler, Spencer, Sydney/Sidney, Tenslee/Tensley, Theo, Weston/Westin, Violet, Zachary, Zoey

1 baby named:

  • Abel, Abraham, Ace, Adam, Adonis, Aeris, Adrian, Aiden, Aksel, Aleassia, Alexandria, Alianna, Allen, Ambrose, Amias, Amiya, Anderson, Angel, Anika, Annalynn, Annie, Anson, Antonina, Archer, Ariella, Ariya, Armando, Arrow, Ashlyn, Athena, Aubree, August, Augustus, Avaianna, Aynslee, Azariah, Azayla
  • Bailey, Baylor, Beau, Becklynn, Bella, Berklie, Bethany, Bonnie, Bradley, Braitton, Branson, Brantley, Braxley, Brayden, Braylee, Brennan, Brexton, Brian, Briggson, Brittany, Brixon, Brock, Broden, Bronx, Brooks, Brylee, Burke
  • Caelan, Cain, Callie, Callum, Calvin, Cameron, Cannon, Carilina, Case, Cash, Charisma, Chasyn, Chloe, Christopher, Ciella, Claire, Cody, Colby, Collyn, Colter, Cree, Crew, Cullen, Cuyler
  • Dailyn, Dakota, Dani, Dean, Delilah, Destin, Diesel, Divine, Douglas, Draco, Draeden
  • Ebony, Eccho, Edison, Eleanor, Elias, Elivia, Ellen, Ellis, Ember, Emily, Emmanuel, Emmie, Emmitt, England, Etta, Evan, Evander, Ezmae
  • Felix, Francis, Fredrick, Freya
  • Genevieve, George, Gideon, Graham, Grey, Griffin
  • Hodassah, Haddie, Hadley, Hailey, Harlan, Harley, Harlow, Harris, Harvey, Hayes, Hendrix, Henleigh
  • Icelynn, Ily, Isabelle, Isaias, Ivan, Ivy, Iylah
  • Jaden, Jaime, Jalin, James, Jameson, Jase, Javier, Jayce, Jaycee, Jayson, Jeremiah, Jessica, Jessie, Jett, JJ, Joanna, John, Jojo, Jolie, Jonah, Jonathan, Josephine, Josie, Joyce, Jude, Julie, June
  • Kade, Kaelyn, Kaiden, Kaii, Kaleah, Kamari, Kambry, Kambryn, Kamdyn, Kane, Karalynn, Kaspian, Kaylee, Kaylynn, Keaton, Keenston, Keira, Kenai, Kendrey, Kevin, Keylin, Khaos, Kieran, Killian, Kimber, Kimora, Kit, Klarke, Kodah, Koen, Kolby, Kole, Korah, Korbyn, Koy, Kyara, Kyden, Kylie, Kyson
  • Lainey, Lakelyn, Lance, Laramie, Laura, Layne, Legend, Lennon, Leopold, Lillian, Lilliean, Lillyanna, Lily, Lola, Londyn, Lorraine, Luca, Lucius, Luke, Lynlee, Lyvie
  • Macie, Macklin, Maddison, Maddox, Mae, Maevelyn, Maggie, Maisey, Mandy, Marceline, Margaret, Mario, Marisa, Marisol, Marleigh, Mary, Mateo, Matthias, Mavis, Maxwell, Mazikeen, Mckenzie, Meadow, Melia, Melody, Merrik, Merritt, Meyer, Mia, Michael, Michelle, Miklo, Milo, Mira, Montana, Myra
  • Nancy, Nash, Natalie, Nathaneil, Naylin, Nehemiah, Nicholas, Nolen, Nora, Nova, Nylin
  • Oaks, Onyx, Oraya, Orian, Orin, Ostara
  • Paxton, Persephone, Presley, Pyper
  • Quincy
  • Rableen, Raeleah, Raven, Reed, Relik, Remi, Remington, Renato, Revi, Rhett, Riatta, Riggs, Rodolfo, Rogan, Roman, Rosalee, Rosemarie, Rowdy, Roxas, Roy, Ruby, Ryann, Ryatt, Ryott
  • Sadie, Sage, Sandra, Saphira, Seraphina, Serenah, Serenity, Shadow, Shelby, Sheridan, Shyanne, Simon, Skadi, Skylynn, Solveig, Sophie, Sorin, Stella, Sterling, Stetley, Storey, Sturgis, Sutton, Sylar, Sylvia
  • Tala, Talia, Tareyn, Tate, Tavin, Taylee, Teagan, Tennyson, Tess, Tessin, Theotis, Thomas, Tillie, Tinlee, Titan, Tobin, Travis, Trenton, Trexton, Tripp, Turner
  • Vada, Vanessa, Vera, Vincent
  • Walker, Watson, Waylon, Westley, Wilder, Wiley, William
  • Xavier, Xia, Xililah, Ximena
  • Yianeli
  • Zachariah, Zaydin, Zayne, Zeppelin, Zinnia, Zoe

Source: Casper’s most popular baby names, 2020 – Wyoming Medical Center (via archive.org)