Tovah
A feminine Hebrew name meaning "good", "pleasant", or "favorable".
Name Census estimates that about 626 living Americans carry the first name Tovah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tovah today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tovah births was 1979 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tovah. 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
626
~ 1 in 547,531 Americans
Peak year
1979
37 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,881
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Tovah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tovah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 194 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Tovah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tovah 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 Tovah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tovahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tovah
The given name Tovah is a Hebrew name derived from the word "tov," which means "good" or "goodness" in the Hebrew language. The name has its origins in ancient Semitic cultures and can be traced back to the biblical period.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Tovah can be found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Esther. In this book, Tovah is mentioned as one of the seven maidens who attended to Queen Esther. This reference dates back to the 5th century BCE, during the reign of the Persian king Xerxes I.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Tovah. One of the earliest was Tovah bat Shlomo, a renowned Jewish scholar who lived in Spain during the 11th century CE. She is remembered for her contributions to the study of Jewish law and her expertise in various fields, including mathematics and astronomy.
In the 14th century, Tovah ben Yosef, a prominent Italian rabbi and scholar, gained recognition for his writings on Jewish law and ethics. His works, including the influential "Torat Ha-Bayit," had a significant impact on subsequent generations of Jewish scholars.
Moving forward in time, Tovah Feldshuh (born 1952) is a contemporary American actress and singer. She has received critical acclaim for her performances on stage and screen, including her portrayal of Golda Meir in the one-woman play "Golda's Balcony," for which she was nominated for a Tony Award.
Another notable bearer of the name is Tovah Ringen (born 1976), an American mathematician and professor at the University of Oregon. She has made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry and has been recognized for her work in bridging the gap between pure and applied mathematics.
Tovah Lazaroff (born 1967) is an Israeli journalist and author who has covered Middle Eastern affairs for several publications, including The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel. Her work has shed light on the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has been widely recognized for its objective and balanced reporting.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Tovah throughout history, each making their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human endeavor.
People
Tovah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tovah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tovah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tovah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 626 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tovah 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 547,531 US residents.
Is Tovah a common name?
We classify Tovah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 649 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tovah most popular?
The single biggest year for Tovah was 1979, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tovah is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tovah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tovah 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.