Popularity of the name Nova, 1885–2025
Nova was at its most popular in 2022, when 5,927 girls were given the name: about 1 in 280 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #32. In 2025, 4,657 girls were named Nova, ranking #46. In all, Social Security counts 55,783 girls named Nova since 1885. Social Security’s records also list 3,227 boys named Nova.
- Peak year
- 2022
- Rank in 2022
- #32
- Babies in 2022
- 5,927
- Rank in 2025
- #46
- Total since 1885
- 55,783
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has climbed from #213 in 2015 to #46 in 2025, with 1,529 girls named Nova in 2015 and 4,657 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Nova ranked highest in the 2020s so far, at #37, with 31,518 girls given the name that decade. It started at #937 in the 1880s.
Every 20 years in the records: 29 in 1900 (#656), 111 in 1920 (#690), 44 in 1940 (#1,088), 34 in 1960 (#1,953), 66 in 1980 (#1,704), 66 in 2000 (#2,332) and 5,006 in 2020 (#38).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 5,927, in 2022. Its best rank in any year was #32, first reached in 2021.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1885 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Nova, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1885 | 12 | #629 |
| 1886 | 7 | #897 |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,036 |
| 1888 | 15 | #663 |
| 1889 | 12 | #757 |
| 1890 | 15 | #693 |
| 1891 | 13 | #750 |
| 1892 | 20 | #638 |
| 1893 | 9 | #1,023 |
| 1894 | 18 | #697 |
| 1895 | 20 | #703 |
| 1896 | 24 | #635 |
| 1897 | 18 | #735 |
| 1898 | 30 | #586 |
| 1899 | 20 | #704 |
| 1900 | 29 | #656 |
| 1901 | 23 | #659 |
| 1902 | 18 | #818 |
| 1903 | 21 | #734 |
| 1904 | 24 | #710 |
| 1905 | 30 | #642 |
| 1906 | 27 | #707 |
| 1907 | 32 | #666 |
| 1908 | 36 | #639 |
| 1909 | 39 | #624 |
| 1910 | 32 | #753 |
| 1911 | 36 | #722 |
| 1912 | 54 | #678 |
| 1913 | 59 | #674 |
| 1914 | 47 | #855 |
| 1915 | 69 | #791 |
| 1916 | 81 | #761 |
| 1917 | 85 | #753 |
| 1918 | 79 | #802 |
| 1919 | 87 | #752 |
| 1920 | 111 | #690 |
| 1921 | 91 | #766 |
| 1922 | 86 | #784 |
| 1923 | 80 | #819 |
| 1924 | 89 | #788 |
| 1925 | 94 | #764 |
| 1926 | 75 | #854 |
| 1927 | 77 | #839 |
| 1928 | 84 | #781 |
| 1929 | 104 | #690 |
| 1930 | 75 | #818 |
| 1931 | 75 | #777 |
| 1932 | 73 | #795 |
| 1933 | 58 | #887 |
| 1934 | 78 | #756 |
| 1935 | 72 | #798 |
| 1936 | 56 | #909 |
| 1937 | 53 | #950 |
| 1938 | 68 | #857 |
| 1939 | 49 | #1,009 |
| 1940 | 44 | #1,088 |
| 1941 | 35 | #1,294 |
| 1942 | 42 | #1,229 |
| 1943 | 39 | #1,305 |
| 1944 | 29 | #1,519 |
| 1945 | 27 | #1,588 |
| 1946 | 33 | #1,532 |
| 1947 | 34 | #1,633 |
| 1948 | 44 | #1,386 |
| 1949 | 42 | #1,423 |
| 1950 | 29 | #1,764 |
| 1951 | 33 | #1,665 |
| 1952 | 33 | #1,713 |
| 1953 | 25 | #2,071 |
| 1954 | 27 | #2,027 |
| 1955 | 39 | #1,641 |
| 1956 | 31 | #1,931 |
| 1957 | 26 | #2,168 |
| 1958 | 19 | #2,663 |
| 1959 | 21 | #2,517 |
| 1960 | 34 | #1,953 |
| 1961 | 23 | #2,543 |
| 1962 | 50 | #1,598 |
| 1963 | 72 | #1,298 |
| 1964 | 50 | #1,610 |
| 1965 | 35 | #1,950 |
| 1966 | 38 | #1,859 |
| 1967 | 35 | #1,980 |
| 1968 | 29 | #2,246 |
| 1969 | 36 | #2,102 |
| 1970 | 51 | #1,755 |
| 1971 | 46 | #1,877 |
| 1972 | 58 | #1,578 |
| 1973 | 48 | #1,788 |
| 1974 | 53 | #1,709 |
| 1975 | 57 | #1,672 |
| 1976 | 65 | #1,551 |
| 1977 | 85 | #1,341 |
| 1978 | 56 | #1,804 |
| 1979 | 70 | #1,605 |
| 1980 | 66 | #1,704 |
| 1981 | 53 | #1,985 |
| 1982 | 50 | #2,050 |
| 1983 | 36 | #2,516 |
| 1984 | 36 | #2,574 |
| 1985 | 38 | #2,545 |
| 1986 | 26 | #3,360 |
| 1987 | 20 | #4,122 |
| 1988 | 19 | #4,496 |
| 1989 | 16 | #5,286 |
| 1990 | 25 | #4,003 |
| 1991 | 20 | #4,808 |
| 1992 | 11 | #7,512 |
| 1993 | 21 | #4,671 |
| 1994 | 19 | #5,016 |
| 1995 | 22 | #4,518 |
| 1996 | 24 | #4,306 |
| 1997 | 38 | #3,105 |
| 1998 | 54 | #2,530 |
| 1999 | 55 | #2,567 |
| 2000 | 66 | #2,332 |
| 2001 | 86 | #1,978 |
| 2002 | 91 | #1,934 |
| 2003 | 99 | #1,858 |
| 2004 | 114 | #1,698 |
| 2005 | 103 | #1,878 |
| 2006 | 106 | #1,905 |
| 2007 | 147 | #1,551 |
| 2008 | 178 | #1,359 |
| 2009 | 231 | #1,105 |
| 2010 | 218 | #1,127 |
| 2011 | 295 | #885 |
| 2012 | 463 | #618 |
| 2013 | 567 | #527 |
| 2014 | 1,136 | #287 |
| 2015 | 1,529 | #213 |
| 2016 | 2,286 | #136 |
| 2017 | 3,057 | #94 |
| 2018 | 4,174 | #55 |
| 2019 | 4,332 | #51 |
| 2020 | 5,006 | #38 |
| 2021 | 5,574 | #32 |
| 2022 | 5,927 | #32 |
| 2023 | 5,282 | #35 |
| 2024 | 5,072 | #39 |
| 2025 | 4,657 | #46 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.