View Message

[Opinions] Nova
Do you like Nova? How far can you see it rising? What are your associations with it?I like the meaning but I am wondering whether the NO at the beginning is off putting. It sounds a bit negative that way. I also think of a supernova.
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

We have a 13 year old Nova at school!I don't love Nova for a girl. I could see it getting popular though. I'm surprised that it hasn'tNova on a boy is a bit of a gp of mine though...
vote up1
My associations:
The NO does put me off. Nova Celine.
"No va" means "he / it doesn't go" in Spanish. That was a joke made about the Chevy Nova.
I think it's got a brand-namey, sound-and-fury-signifying-nothing aura about it. Maybe because of the TV show, maybe the car, I don't know. But it's not very first-namey to me.
It's Noa, only not to be taken so seriously, because exploding star!
"you're a human supernova ... you **** like a volcano ..."
I don't hate it ... I might even see its appeal. But I still think it's sort of tacky.
My feeling is, it's a fad that will have become too funky in about 5 or 10 years, and someday it'll be like Brandy is now.
vote up1
I don't mind it, but I'm not a huge fan. My cousin named his son Novah Patrick, and the extra h makes it even more ridiculous in my opinion. I suppose it is an ok name. The sounds are nice at least. But I always think of Nova Scotia or Pizza Nova. I feel bad because I think I'm too harsh on this name. It fits in with other names I like in terms of sound, but I have a hard time taking this name seriously. It sounds cartoonish to me if that makes sense.
vote up1
I like Neva more. I also have heard Neiva, which I hate because I dislike the person and found her a bit annoying but I think the sound of Neiva is nice and it looks somewhat pretty. I can see it becoming about as popular as Luna.
vote up1
I really like it, it's cosmic and cute. I can see it more on a teenage girl but I really like it. The 'no' doesn't put me off because of the v right after it.
vote up1
I like it for a girl, but I’m not sure if I have the guts to use it unless becomes more “mainstream”. It also makes me think of the PBS show.
vote up1
I don’t dislike it but would never use it because of the sudden popularity. The meaning is meh to me, especially since it will seem really out of place on an old person (and people with this name will eventually grow old).
vote up1
It's pretty popular where I'm from (ranked 23rd last year). It used to be in the top 3 names for girls for me, but I won't it bc we've got one in the family already. I was a little disappointed when we got one in the family, bc I had wanted to use it, but now considering its popularity, I don't feel bad about it any more. I think it got popular when Noa was first popular, and people liked that but wanted something different. Just look at the charts together. Nova seems to have profited from Noa's decline. https://www.behindthename.com/name/noa/top/netherlands?compare=nova&type=percent
vote up1
I was very surprised when my brother and his wife gave this name to their daughter last year, as I had never heard of it. I immediately thought of Supernova or Nova Scotia. At first I didn't like it, but after seeing tons of cute pictures of my niece-the name grew on me.
vote up1
A decade or so ago, my mom mentioned that her nail tech had a baby and named her Nova. My first thought was "You mean, like the smoked salmon?" and I honestly can't get past that association. If you go to a bagel shop and want a bagel with lox, you can either get belly-lox (very salty) or nova (not as salty), nova being the more popular option. I'm surprised it's gotten so high in the top 1000. It's not a name I've paid much attention to, but I hadn't realized how popular it had gotten. Anyway, not a fan of that name. Am a fan of the smoked salmon.
vote up1
Haha...I didn't know about this association! Well, when I think about it, I definitely knew what nova-lox is after having lived in New York but it isn't something that comes to mind when seeing the name Nova. I think more of stars, supernovas, and the word "new". I don't personally like the name but the salmon had never even occurred to me!
vote up1
It's ok but it's gotten suuuper trendy (it even charted for boys in 2017!) I think it could reach the top 100 in 2 or 3 years but will end up dated.
vote up1
EditWow, I didn't realize it was already in the top 100! That was fast. My bad!
vote up1
All I can think of is the PBS science show.I don't like the sound much.
vote up1
I like it for a boy (and have for a few years; ever since someone posted about a baby cousin or something named Novah). It charted for a boy this year, that's kind of exciting. For girls, maybe top 50? It's like a blend of Nora and Ava so it could go decently high but probably never top 20. Space is cool so I don't see any problems thinking of supernovas. I don't think the No- is a problem.

This message was edited 5/13/2018, 9:18 AM

vote up1
That would be me. My cousin named his son Novah Patrick.
vote up1
Definitely prefer it for a boy. Still wouldn’t use it because the meaning has an expiration date.
vote up1
The association for me is "Nova Scotia", the Canadian province of my birth.
vote up1
The sound isn't bad; it's not whiny or indistinct, like, say, Mia or Isla. I don't mind the NO.
It's astronomical, like Stella and Luna and Aurora and Lyra, which are all rising, so yup it could fit in neatly there.
I don't feel huge enthusiasm for it because at the moment it sounds more brand-name than person-name to me, but that could change.
vote up1
Nova has been in Sweden's top 100 since 2003, and it ranked #31 in both 2017 and 2016.
I'm tired of it. I don't mind trendy names, but Nova has a trendy feeling to it that I don't like. To be honest, I see it as a quite trashy name which I didn't do in the beginning but I guess it's because of all the Nova's I've seen and their siblings names. There's a Teen Mom/Teen Mom OG who has a daughter named Novalee "Nova", maybe that helped the popularity in the US. But astronomy/space names seems to be a thing as well, like Luna, Lyra, Seren, Orion...Lova is another popular name here in Sweden, it's also the word for "promise" although pronounced differently. The word is pretty much pronounced as nova, but with an L. I much prefer Lova over Nova.
vote up1
One of my cousins (in the US) has a daughter named Nova. She was born in 2011, which was the first year it reentered the Top 1000, after last featuring in 1938.Cousin looked up Nova back in 2012, after the stats for 2011 were released, and was surprised to see it was even Top 1000. She didn't think anything of it after that though, until I e-mailed her yesterday, showing Nova sitting at #95 last year, jokingly saying to her "so I guess this makes you a trendsetter?!" Her reply to me was, "What? WHAT? WHAT WHAT WHAT?!"It's had a rather rapid rise, and as of yet, I can't pinpoint why. I think it may climb a bit higher, but I don't think it'll ever hit the Top 25 or anything like that. [Waits to be proven wrong in a few years]Anyway, I quite like it, and it really suits my cousin's daughter. She chose it, because she loves the band Oasis, so is inspired from the song Champagne Supernova. The name wasn't well-received by everyone in our family, with another cousin labelling it 'a typical teen mom trash name' (cousin was 16 when her daughter was born).
vote up1
I was wondering the same thing and did some googleing. It was actually used by someone on Teen Moms whose daughter is NovaLee Reign, called Nova. Novalee is rising too.
vote up1
NovaleeThe 2000 film 'Where the Heart Is' stars Natalie Portman as a character called Novalee Nation. That's when I first heard the name. The movie isn't great but it did okay at the box office and 11-year-old me really liked the movie at the time and I still kind of love the movie in a real guilty pleasure kind of way. I wonder if part of the rise of Novalee and Nova could be the teens and tweens around when that movie came out and then who have watched it whenever it's on TV (which is not a rare occurrence) using it on their kids now. Not necessarily after the character but they liked the sound and that movie brought it to their attention.ETA: The character actually isn't a bad character to name your daughter after. Her name was chosen by her "redneck" and also manipulative and awful mother, however the character of Novalee is most of the things I would hope a daughter of mine grows to be. She's resilient, resourceful, hardworking, nonjudgmental, loving, and honest. So while I don't think anyone would actually name their kid after the character, it did give the name some publicity and then it definitely wasn't associated with a negative character, and that probably increases the positive feelings towards the name.

This message was edited 5/13/2018, 4:35 PM

vote up1
nm, double post

This message was edited 5/13/2018, 5:18 AM

vote up1
meant to reply to OPIt's a colloquial word used to mean northern Virginia, where my sister lives, so I mainly think of it like that. I get a headache every time I have to drive in that area, the traffic is that horrific...so Nova in my mind is tinged with fatigue and repressed road rage...the fact that it is also a type of car probably strengthens that initial impression...it also reminds me of novacaine.But to a lot of people, maybe it just sounds nerdy-pretty and sci-fi because of the astronomy/science connection, and that's kind of in style right now (I think?): Super Nova sounds like a comic book hero...sure enough, I just checked the name page and she's a superhero, so there's that...plus now there's a Power Rangers character - maybe that was connected to the recent spike?I don't think the NO sound being negative is very relevant here to popularity, judging by Noah / Noa. I wouldn't be surprised if Nova ended up in the top 10 or 20, since soundwise, it's like a compromise between Noah and Ava.

This message was edited 5/13/2018, 5:24 AM

vote up1