Noah - Baby Name Meaning, Origin, and Popularity

Publish date: 2024-05-08
Noah was derived from the Hebrew name Noach, which itself came from the root nuach, meaning "rest." In the bible, Noah was deemed the only righteous man of his time, singled out by God to survive the great flood sent to punish the world. Noa is generally a separate feminine Hebrew name, although it's also found as a variant spelling of the male name Noah.

Noah surprised the baby name world in 2013 to become the new Number 1 among baby boy names, unseating Jacob after a 13-year reign, and it maintained its top ranking for three years before dropping to Number 2 in 2017.

Noah, the name of the Old Testament patriarch of the ark, is one of those unexpected fashion hits. It seems Noah has definitely shaken off its ancient image. In 2009, Noah made it into the Top 10 for the first time in history, and then became the first new top boys' name of the 21st century.

Noah has risen on the style charts along with other formerly long-beard names such as Abraham, Moses, and even Elijah, unthinkable a generation ago.

Actor Rupert Graves and singer Michael Buble both have sons named Noah. Billy Ray Cyrus, responsible for the name Miley, crossed gender lines to call another of his daughters Noah. The feminine homonym Noa -- which isn't a form of the Biblical male Noah (it's a separate female name from the Old Testament) -- is currently the most popular girls' name in Israel. And Noah itself, with its vowel ending, is evidence of the trend toward softer sounds in boys' names, along with brothers Joshua and Asher.

While variation Noa is an actual girls' name drawn from a female figure in the Bible, it is sometimes used as a sleekened spelling of Noah.

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