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Novella

Gender
Girl
Say it
noh-VEL-a
Origin
Italian
UK rank, 2025
#2,344 for girls
US rank, 2025
#2,542 for girls

Novella is a girls' name of Italian origin, meaning “new, young”. In 2025 it ranked 2,344th for girls in the UK (12 babies) and 2,542nd for girls in the US (69 babies).

What does Novella mean?

Italian: Italian name and word, from Latin novellus

“new, young”

Also the word for a short novel, from Italian novella, 'a piece of news, a tale'.

Is Novella a girl's or a boy's name?

Novella is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 12 girls in the UK and 69 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Novella in the UK?

Rank in 2025
2,344th among girls
Babies in 2025
12 about 1 in 23,000 girls
Five-year trend
Rising fast up 314% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 12 girls in the UK were named Novella, making it the 2,344th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,744th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 13 girls.

Half of all the girls named Novella in the UK since 1996 were born between 2020 and 2024, the years shaded on the chart below.

Among girls in 2025, it was 2,276th in England and Wales.

2015Busiest: 13 in 20242025
Novella in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202512#2,344
202413#2,175
20234#4,915
20224#4,870
20216#3,697
20204#4,744
20193#5,804
20180–
20173#5,998
20164#4,980
20153#5,983

How popular is Novella in the US?

Rank in 2025
2,542nd among girls
Babies in 2025
69 about 1 in 23,000 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 7% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 69 girls in the US were named Novella, making it the 2,542nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,281st. Its busiest year was 1923, with 186 girls. It first appears in the records in 1882.

2025 had more girls named Novella than any year since 1942.

Half of all the girls named Novella in the US since 1880 were born between 1920 and 1959, the years shaded on the chart below.

1882Busiest: 186 in 19232025
Novella in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202569#2,542
202444#3,516
202364#2,704
202258#2,894
202151#3,157
202047#3,281
201966#2,632
201853#3,049
201749#3,247
201641#3,707
201535#4,143
201447#3,367
201326#5,141
201228#4,955
201133#4,352
201027#5,106
200925#5,535
200828#5,140
200719#6,808
20060–
20056#14,495
20047#12,754
20036#13,837
20029#10,240
20017#12,049
20007#11,794
19998#10,338
19989#9,254
19976#12,065
19968#9,576
19950–
19946#11,771
19938#9,552
199213#6,645
19917#10,263
19907#10,187
19899#8,031
19880–
198710#6,783
19867#8,518
198513#5,346
198412#5,538
198311#5,822
198217#4,346
19816#9,108
198014#4,977
197912#5,426
197813#4,931
197712#5,212
197612#4,903
197510#5,514
197414#4,226
197324#2,830
197230#2,398
197132#2,375
197019#3,311
196930#2,350
196830#2,205
196734#2,012
196625#2,406
196528#2,246
196436#1,974
196333#2,060
196235#1,946
196137#1,892
196041#1,763
195943#1,671
195841#1,678
195743#1,640
195639#1,692
195551#1,403
195457#1,316
195340#1,548
195236#1,610
195153#1,276
195041#1,432
194949#1,303
194860#1,156
194752#1,254
194655#1,147
194557#1,022
194453#1,071
194358#1,048
194271#928
194174#845
194067#868
193988#726
193878#799
193772#810
193677#768
193569#823
193480#746
193394#672
1932108#643
193190#706
1930101#685
1929111#661
1928100#703
1927126#638
1926118#666
1925124#661
1924148#615
1923186#513
1922143#603
1921140#619
1920118#665
1919146#573
1918107#695
1917123#615
1916107#659
1915113#615
191488#608
191370#618
191273#563
191163#522
191049#593
190942#594
190842#574
190740#580
190643#528
190547#490
190437#545
190332#574
190220#773
190128#591
190035#589
189919#728
189820#750
189721#681
189621#688
189519#725
189414#812
189312#865
189217#706
189113#750
18907#1,099
188914#687
188812#753
18878#860
18869#778
18858#793
18840–
18836#817
18826#813

Nicknames for Novella

Names like Novella

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Nora, Matilda, Ada, Clara, Nina, Etta, Cora, Nola, Nellie, Eva, Nova, Eliza

Names related to Novella

Novalea

More Italian names

Aria, Sienna, Enzo, Bella, Kiara, Gemma, Ariyah, Milani, Ariya, Armani, Bianca, Siena, Ariah, Capri, Kara, Emiliana

Every Italian name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Novella: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/novella, updated 20 October 2026.