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

Baby renamed after tattoo artist misspells his original name

Detail of "Tattoo Artist" (1944) by Norman Rockwell
“Tattoo Artist” (detail) by Norman Rockwell

About three years ago, Johanna Giselhäll Sandström of Kyrkhult, Sweden, decided to get a tattoo of the names of her two children, Nova and Kevin, on her arm.

Unfortunately, the tattoo artist ended up misspelling her son’s name “Kelvin.” So he gave her a refund, along with the phone number of a tattoo removal clinic.

After learning that tattoos are difficult to remove — and realizing that the misspelled version of the name was growing on her — Johanna came up with a different solution: legally renaming Kevin, who was almost two years old at the time.

Here’s what she had to say about his new name, Kelvin:

I had never heard the name Kelvin before. There isn’t anyone who names their kid Kelvin. So when I thought more about it, I realized that no one else has this name. It became unique. Now we think it is better than Kevin.

She and her husband have since welcomed their third child, a daughter named Freja. Johanna plans to add Freja’s name to the tattoo, but notes that she will double-check the spelling this time.

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the cover of The Saturday Evening Post (4 Mar. 1944)

[Latest update: Nov. 2024]

Biggest changes in boy name popularity, 2017

Which boy names increased the most in popularity from 2016 to 2017? And which ones decreased the most?

There are a few different ways to answer this question. The SSA, for instance, likes to look at ranking differences within the top 1,000. And I like to augment their list by looking at raw number differences across all the data.

So let’s look at increases first…

Boy Names: Biggest Increases, 2016 to 2017

Rankings

1. Wells, +504 spots
2. Kairo, +423
3. Caspian, +328
4. Nova, +323
5. Colson, +323
6. Kace, +315
7. Kashton, +302
8. Koa, +294
9. Gatlin, +282
10. Bjorn, +276

Wells was influenced by Wells Adams, a contestant from The Bachelorette. Nova may have been influenced by “all those Villanova Wildcats basketball fans naming their sons in celebration of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions.”

Raw Numbers

1. Logan, +2,748 babies
2. Maverick, +1,751
3. Ezekiel, +1,350
4. Mateo, +1,181
5. Lincoln, +1,032
6. Theodore, +1,018
7. Matias, +643
8. Leo, +642
9. Jameson, +639
10. Rowan, +637

Other names that saw raw number increases in the 300+ range included Asher, Santiago, Ezra, Rhett, Waylon, and Legend.

And now let’s check out decreases…

Boy Names: Biggest Decreases, 2016 to 2017

Rankings

1. Riaan, -421 spots
2. Kylo, -245
3. Kolby, -195
4. Urijah, -189
5. Kamdyn, -189
6. Jamar, -163
7. Giovani, -160
8. Nickolas, -155
9. Chad, -155
10. Jair, -147

The higher they climb, the harder they fall: Riaan was the fastest-rising boy name of 2015, and Kylo was the fastest-rising boy name of 2016, and now they’re both plummeting in 2017.

Raw Numbers

1. Mason, -1,728 babies
2. Michael, -1,478
3. Ethan, -1,417
4. Jacob, -1,373
5. Daniel, -1,281
6. Andrew, -1,161
7. Gabriel, -1,124
8. Anthony, -1,049
9. Matthew, -994
10. Owen, -970

Other names that saw raw number drops in the (negative) 300+ range included Aiden, Jackson, Gavin, Ryder, Jase, Hudson, and Tristan.

Do you have any explanations for the name movement above? If so, please comment!

Sources: Change in Popularity, SSA, Emma and Liam Top Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names for 2017

Biggest changes in girl name popularity, 2017

Which girl names increased the most in popularity from 2016 to 2017? And which ones decreased the most?

There are a few different ways to answer this question. The SSA, for instance, likes to look at ranking differences within the top 1,000. And I like to augment their list by looking at raw number differences across all the data.

So let’s look at increases first…

Girl Names: Biggest Increases, 2016 to 2017

Rankings

1. Ensley, +1,461 spots
2. Oaklynn, +1,072
3. Dream, +840
4. Oaklyn, +749
5. Melania, +720
6. Emberly, +616
7. Octavia, +435
8. Paisleigh, +364
9. Yara, +352
10. Kehlani, +347

Melania was influenced by the First Lady. Dream was influenced by the latest Kardashian baby.

Raw Numbers

1. Luna, +1,657 babies
2. Mila, +1,123
3. Amelia, +1,047
4. Bella, +957
5. Nova, +748
6. Camila, +704
7. Elena, +685
8. Kinsley, +669
9. Everly, +616
10. Aurora, +590

Camila might have been influenced by Camila Cabello (“Havana ooh na-na…”).

Other names that saw raw number increases in the 300+ range included Raelynn, Willow, Amara, Isla, Samara, and Leilani.

And now let’s check out decreases…

Girl Names: Biggest Decreases, 2016 to 2017

Rankings

1. Julianne, -263 spots
2. Wendy, -243
3. Milania, -241
4. Montserrat, -225
5. Nathaly, -225
6. Jayden, -204
7. Jessa, -201
8. Tenley, -198
9. Aryana, -184
10. Ciara, -183

Looks like Melania stole a lot of attention away from Milania in 2017.

Raw Numbers

1. Sophia, -1,281 babies
2. Emily, -1,211
3. Abigail, -1,196
4. Madison, -1,167
5. Sofia, -1,027
6. Mia, -978
7. Alexa, -883
8. Riley, -788
9. Brooklyn, -774
10. Lily, -769

Alexa was no doubt adversely affected by the prevalence of Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa.

Other names that saw raw number drops in the (negative) 300+ range included Kylie, Natalie, Taylor, Morgan, Piper, Trinity, and Harper.

Do you have any explanations for the name movement above? If so, please comment!

Sources: Change in Popularity, SSA, Emma and Liam Top Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names for 2017

Popular baby names in the United States, 2017

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

According to the Social Security Administration, Emma and Liam were the most popular baby names in the United States in 2017.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl names

1. Emma, 19,738 baby girls (same rank in 2016)
2. Olivia, 18,632 (same)
3. Ava, 15,902 (same)
4. Isabella, 15,100 (was 5th)
5. Sophia, 14,831 (was 4th)
6. Mia, 13,437 (same)
7. Charlotte, 12,893 (same)
8. Amelia, 11,800 (new)
9. Evelyn, 10,675 (new)
10. Abigail, 10,551 (was 8th)

Boy names

1. Liam, 18,728 baby boys (was ranked 2nd in 2016)
2. Noah, 18,326 (was 1st)
3. William, 14,904 (same)
4. James, 14,232 (was 5th)
5. Logan, 13,974 (new)
6. Benjamin, 13,733 (same)
7. Mason, 13,502 (was 4th)
8. Elijah, 13,268 (was 9th)
9. Oliver, 13,141 (new)
10. Jacob, 13,106 (was 7th)

In the girls’ top ten, Amelia and Evelyn replaced Harper (now 11th) and Emily (12th).

In the boys’ top ten, Logan and Oliver replaced Michael (now 12th) and Ethan (14th).

In 2016, the top names were Emma and Noah.

Here’s more from the SSA’s news release:

Ensley was the fastest riser on the girls’ list, moving 1,461 spots to number 965, from number 2,426 in 2016. Spring has sprung, and Wells (meaning “spring”) had the biggest bloom in popularity for the boys, moving over 500 spots in 2017 from number 1,419 to 915. Perhaps his parents are fans of the hit TV show “The Bachelorette” where one of the popular contestants was named Wells. Does this mean more bachelors named Wells at future rose ceremonies?

In a clear nod to the popularity of the First Lady of the United States, new parents chose the name Melania at an increasing rate in 2017.

It looks like new parents are “Keeping up with the Kardashians” as the name Dream rose 840 spots in 2017. Fan or not, many people know Rob Kardashian and Angela White, aka Blac Chyna, named their daughter Dream in late 2016. For the boys, another fast riser was Nova, who may have gotten his popularity from all those Villanova Wildcats basketball fans naming their sons in celebration of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions.

More posts on the new names coming soon!

Sources: SSA, Emma and Liam Top Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names for 2017 – SSA

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