Novi
A feminine name derived from Latin meaning "new" or "young".
Name Census estimates that about 305 living Americans carry the first name Novi. It is a predominantly female name (95.1% of registrations). The average person named Novi today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Novi births was 2024 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Novi. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Novi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
305
~ 1 in 1,123,785 Americans
Peak year
2024
51 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2022 SSA rank
#3,150
Tracked since 2011
Census
Novi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 229 people with the first name Novi, which placed it at #35,223 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
#35,223
National first-name rank
People counted
229
229 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
38.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Novi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Novi is White at 38.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.1%) and Hispanic (14.0%). 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 Novi 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 Novi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White38.9% · 89
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.1% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino14.0% · 32
- Black or African American10.0% · 23
- Two or more races7.4% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Novi
Novi leans heavily female at 95.1% of total registrations, but 15 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Novi as a male name
- Ranked #13,769 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2016 (5 births)
Novi as a female name
- Ranked #3,150 in 2024
- 51 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (51 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Novi on both sides of the split. Of the 231 people counted with this name, 51 were male (22.1%) and 180 were female (77.9%).
Popularity
Novi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Novi from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 211 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
Novi 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 Novi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Novis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Illinois, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Novi, while North Carolina, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Novi
The given name Novi is derived from the Latin word "novus," meaning "new" or "fresh." Its roots can be traced back to ancient Roman times, where it was used as a name to signify a new beginning or a fresh start.
Novi was a popular name among the Romans, and it appears in several historical records from that era. One notable example is Novi Homines, which referred to the "new men" who were the first in their families to attain the highest political office in Rome, the consulship.
During the Middle Ages, the name Novi found its way into various European cultures, particularly in the regions of modern-day Italy and France. In Italy, it was sometimes spelled as "Novio" or "Noviello," while in France, it took the form of "Novi" or "Novien."
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Novi was Novi Claudius, a Roman senator and philosopher who lived in the 1st century AD. Another notable figure was Novi Africanus, a Roman general and statesman who played a crucial role in the Punic Wars against Carthage in the 3rd century BC.
In the realm of religion, Novi was the name of a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD. He was persecuted and executed for his faith during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
During the Renaissance period, the name Novi gained popularity among artists and scholars. One famous bearer of the name was Novi Buonarroti, an Italian sculptor and painter who lived from 1475 to 1564. He is best known for his masterpieces such as the statue of David and the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Another notable figure was Novi Machiavelli, an Italian Renaissance philosopher, politician, and writer who lived from 1469 to 1527. He is renowned for his political treatise "The Prince," which revolutionized the study of political science and statecraft.
In the realm of literature, Novi appears in the works of several renowned authors. For instance, in Dante Alighieri's epic poem "Divine Comedy," one of the characters is named Novi.
Throughout history, the name Novi has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, philosophers, politicians, and religious figures. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its connection to the concept of renewal and new beginnings.
People
Novi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Novi 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
Novi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Novi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 305 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Novi 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 1,123,785 US residents.
Is Novi a common name?
We classify Novi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 307 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Novi most popular?
The single biggest year for Novi was 2024, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Novi is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Novi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 229 people with the name Novi, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,223 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 Novi 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 Novi?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Novi on both sides of the split. Of the 231 people counted with this name, 51 were male (22.1%) and 180 were female (77.9%). 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 Novi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Novi is White at 38.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.1%) and Hispanic (14.0%). 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 Novi most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Novi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.9% (89 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 Novi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Novi a female name?
Yes, 95.1% of people registered as Novi 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 Novi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Novi 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 Novi 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 are called Novi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.