Genova
Of Italian origin, meaning "from Genoa," the coastal city in northwest Italy.
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Genova. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Genova today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Genova births was 1991 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Genova. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
1991
19 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,010
Tracked since 1913
Census
Genova in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 308 people with the first name Genova, which placed it at #28,952 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,952
National first-name rank
People counted
308
308 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
46.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Genova
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genova is Hispanic at 46.4%. The next largest groups are Black (27.6%) and White (19.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Genova described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Genova at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino46.4% · 143
- Black or African American27.6% · 85
- White19.8% · 61
- Two or more races2.6% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 4
Popularity
Genova: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Genova from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 56 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Genova by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Genova during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Genovas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Genova
The name Genova is derived from the Italian city of Genoa, located in the northwestern region of Liguria. The city dates back to the 6th century BC, when it was founded by the ancient Ligurians. The name Genova itself has its roots in the Latin word "Genua," which referred to the city's location on a prominent bend or "knee" in the coastline.
During the Middle Ages, the Republic of Genoa was a major maritime power in the Mediterranean, with a thriving economy centered around trade and naval prowess. The name Genova gained prominence during this time, as the city's influence and reputation spread throughout Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Genova can be found in the 12th-century epic poem "Chanson de Roland," which recounts the exploits of the legendary Frankish knight Roland. In the poem, a character named Genova is mentioned as a warrior fighting alongside Roland.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Genova. One such figure was Genova di Negro (1350-1418), a Genoese admiral and military leader who played a crucial role in the Republic's naval campaigns against Venice and other rivals in the Mediterranean.
Another famous Genova was Genova Tornielli (1541-1622), an Italian painter and architect who worked extensively in the Baroque style. His most notable works include the Church of San Siro in Genoa and the Palazzo Tornielli in Milan.
In the realm of literature, Genova Boccaccio (1313-1375) was a renowned Italian author and poet, best known for his masterpiece "The Decameron," a collection of novellas that vividly portrayed life in 14th-century Italy.
More recently, Genova Gambini (1905-1976) was an Italian politician and journalist who served as the editor of the influential newspaper "Il Secolo XIX" for many years. He was also a prominent figure in the Italian Communist Party and played a role in the resistance against fascism during World War II.
Another notable Genova was Genova Cassese (1929-2011), an Italian jurist and academic who made significant contributions to the field of administrative law. He served as a judge on the Constitutional Court of Italy and was widely respected for his expertise and integrity.
People
Genova + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Genova as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Genova: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Genova?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Genova going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Genova a common name?
We classify Genova as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 245 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Genova most popular?
The single biggest year for Genova was 1991, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Genova is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Genova in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 308 people with the name Genova, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,952 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Genova in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Genova?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Genova leans strongly female. 286 people counted with this name were female (94.4%), compared with 17 male bearers (5.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Genova?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genova is Hispanic at 46.4%. The next largest groups are Black (27.6%) and White (19.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Genova most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Genova in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.4% (143 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Genova in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Genova a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Genova in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Genova still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Genova in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Genova can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Genova?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.