Nou
A feminine Khmer name meaning "blessing" or "gift".
Name Census estimates that about 391 living Americans carry the first name Nou. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Nou today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nou births was 1991 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nou. 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
391
~ 1 in 876,610 Americans
Peak year
1991
39 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1995 SSA rank
#5,786
Tracked since 1979
Census
Nou in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,345 people with the first name Nou, which placed it at #10,052 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
#10,052
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,345 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nou
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nou is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Nou 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 Nou at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.4% · 1,310
- White1.3% · 17
- Black or African American0.4% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 6
- Two or more races0.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Nou
Nou leans heavily female at 86.3% of total registrations, but 56 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nou as a male name
- Ranked #5,786 in 1995
- 10 male births in 1995
- Peak: 1992 (12 births)
Nou as a female name
- Ranked #10,504 in 2000
- 9 female births in 2000
- Peak: 1993 (34 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nou on both sides of the split. Of the 1,340 people counted with this name, 315 were male (23.5%) and 1,025 were female (76.5%).
Popularity
Nou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nou from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 235 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nou 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 Nou during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nous live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Nou, while Wisconsin, Minnesota, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 68 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nou
The given name Nou has its origins in various cultures and languages, with diverse meanings and historical references.
The name Nou is believed to have derived from the ancient Sanskrit word "Nava," which means new or fresh. It is also speculated to have evolved from the Latin word "Novus," bearing a similar connotation. Variations of the name exist across different languages, such as "Nour" in Arabic and "Nuno" in Portuguese.
One of the earliest known references to the name Nou can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts, where it was associated with concepts of renewal, growth, and rejuvenation. In particular, the name held significance in the celebration of the Hindu festival of Navratri, which marks the beginning of the new year and honors the divine feminine energy.
The name Nou also finds mention in several historical records and literary works. In ancient Greek mythology, Nou was the personification of the divine mind, representing the source of all creation and order in the cosmos. Furthermore, the name appears in various medieval European manuscripts, often used by scribes and scholars during the Renaissance period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nou. One of the earliest recorded examples is Nou Taishi, a Japanese Buddhist monk and calligrapher who lived during the 9th century. His artistic works and teachings significantly influenced the development of Japanese calligraphy and Zen Buddhism.
Another prominent figure with the name Nou was Nou Boubèye, a 16th-century Senegalese military leader and resistance fighter. He played a crucial role in defending the Kingdom of Sine against Portuguese colonizers, earning him a place in the annals of West African history.
In the realm of literature, Nou Shiyuan was a renowned Chinese poet and scholar from the Tang Dynasty, renowned for his contributions to the development of classical Chinese poetry. His works have been widely studied and celebrated throughout the centuries.
Moving forward in time, Nou Chinnawong was a Thai artist and architect who lived in the 19th century. He is best known for his intricate designs and contributions to the restoration of several significant Buddhist temples and structures in Thailand.
Lastly, Nou Vang, a prominent Hmong-American writer and activist, has made significant contributions to raising awareness about the experiences of the Hmong community in the United States. Her literary works and advocacy efforts have garnered widespread recognition and acclaim.
People
Nou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nou 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
Nou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 391 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nou 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 876,610 US residents.
Is Nou a common name?
We classify Nou as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 408 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nou most popular?
The single biggest year for Nou was 1991, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nou is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nou in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,345 people with the name Nou, or 0.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,052 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 Nou 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 Nou?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nou on both sides of the split. Of the 1,340 people counted with this name, 315 were male (23.5%) and 1,025 were female (76.5%). 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 Nou?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nou is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Nou most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nou in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (1,310 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 Nou in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nou a female name?
Yes, 86.3% of people registered as Nou 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 Nou still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nou 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 Nou 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 common is the name Nou?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.