Navah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "beautiful" or "calm".
Name Census estimates that about 225 living Americans carry the first name Navah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Navah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Navah births was 2019 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Navah. 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
225
~ 1 in 1,523,353 Americans
Peak year
2019
18 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,829
Tracked since 2002
Census
Navah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 259 people with the first name Navah, which placed it at #32,463 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
#32,463
National first-name rank
People counted
259
259 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Navah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Navah is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Hispanic (14.3%). 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 Navah 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 Navah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.2% · 156
- Black or African American14.3% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino14.3% · 37
- Two or more races8.1% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Popularity
Navah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Navah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 125 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Navah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Navah 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 Navah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Navahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Navah
The name Navah is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, with its roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "navah," which means "beautiful" or "pleasant." This name was particularly popular among Jewish communities in the Middle East and parts of Europe.
One of the earliest mentions of the name Navah can be found in the biblical Book of Genesis, where it is used as a reference to a beautiful dwelling place or settlement. This association with beauty and pleasantness has contributed to the enduring appeal of the name throughout history.
In ancient times, Navah was a relatively uncommon name, but it gained popularity during the Middle Ages. One notable figure with this name was Navah ben Malka, a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Baghdad during the 10th century. His works on ethics and metaphysics had a significant influence on Islamic and Jewish thought.
During the Renaissance period, the name Navah gained further recognition. Navah de Verona, an Italian-Jewish poet and writer, was born in Verona in the late 15th century. Her poetic works, which often explored themes of love and spirituality, were widely acclaimed and helped to popularize the name among literary circles.
In more recent history, Navah has been the name of several notable individuals. Navah Perlitz, an Israeli painter and sculptor born in 1923, gained recognition for her vibrant and expressive artwork. Her pieces are featured in numerous galleries and museums worldwide.
Another individual with this name was Navah Mendelsohn, a Canadian author and journalist born in 1948. She is best known for her insightful works on Jewish culture and her contributions to various publications, including the Canadian Jewish News.
It is worth noting that while the name Navah has its roots in Hebrew, it has gained popularity across various cultures and regions over time. Its association with beauty and pleasantness has resonated with people from diverse backgrounds, contributing to its enduring appeal as a given name.
People
Navah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Navah 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
Navah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Navah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 225 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Navah 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 1,523,353 US residents.
Is Navah a common name?
We classify Navah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 227 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Navah most popular?
The single biggest year for Navah was 2019, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Navah is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Navah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 259 people with the name Navah, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,463 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 Navah 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 Navah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Navah leans strongly female. 259 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Navah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Navah is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Hispanic (14.3%). 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 Navah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Navah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.2% (156 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 Navah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Navah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Navah 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 Navah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Navah 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 Navah 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 Americans are named Navah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.