Neve
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "bright" or "radiant".
Name Census estimates that about 1,541 living Americans carry the first name Neve. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Neve today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neve births was 2010 (95 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neve. 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.
Key insights
- • Neve is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 222,423 Americans
Peak year
2010
95 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,357
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Neve: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neve from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 679 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Neve remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neve 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 Neve during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Neves live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Neve, while Texas, Ohio, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Neve
The name Neve originated from the Hebrew language, derived from the word "navah," which means "dwelling place" or "home." It gained popularity during the medieval period in Israel and surrounding regions.
Neve can be traced back to ancient Hebrew texts, including the Talmud, where it was used as a reference to the homeland or a place of residence. In the Bible, the word "navah" appears in various forms, such as "naveh" or "navith," often referring to pastures or meadows.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Neve dates back to the 12th century. Neve ben Shlomo, a renowned Jewish scholar and commentator, lived in Spain during this period and made significant contributions to the study of the Talmud.
In the 16th century, Neve Shalom, a prominent Sephardic Jewish philosopher and kabbalist, was born in Safed, Ottoman Palestine (now Israel). He was known for his work on mystical interpretations of Jewish texts.
During the 17th century, Neve Yerushalmi, a Jewish scholar and authority on Halakha (Jewish law), lived in Jerusalem and authored several notable works on Jewish jurisprudence.
In the 19th century, Neve Tzedek was the name given to one of the first Jewish neighborhoods established outside the walls of the Old City of Jaffa (now part of Tel Aviv, Israel). The name Neve Tzedek means "Oasis of Justice" in Hebrew.
Another notable figure was Neve Shalom Ashkenazi, a Lithuanian-born Hebrew writer and poet who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is remembered for his contributions to modern Hebrew literature.
While the name Neve has its roots in Hebrew and Jewish culture, it has gained popularity across various communities and cultures around the world, transcending its original linguistic and religious boundaries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Neve
People
Neve + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neve as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Neve: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neve?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,541 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neve 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 222,423 US residents.
Is Neve a common name?
We classify Neve as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,557 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neve most popular?
The single biggest year for Neve was 2010, when 95 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neve is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Neve a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neve 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.
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.