Thirty years of Nova
Nova in numbers
Nova is still climbing: from 3 girls in 2000 (its first published year) to 650 in 2025, its highest count so far. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2019 and 2022, from 267 to 539. It ranked 3,912th in 2000 and reached 68th in 2025, its best place so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year+8%603 to 650
- 5 years+85%352 to 650
- 10 years+693%82 to 650
- 20 years+16,150%4 to 650
- Since 2000 (first published)×2173 to 650
- Total, 1996 to 20254,279girls
† All changes and totals are Baby Data calculations from ONS counts. A total adds only the published years.
Across the three nations, 2025
Each from its own statistics office, never added togetherRank 68 · ONS · 603 in 2024
Rank 74 · NRS · 72 in 2024
Rank 121 · NISRA · 20 in 2024
England and Wales (ONS) count births in the calendar year; Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland (NISRA) count births registered in the year. Each comes from its own statistics office and they are never added together.
Year by year, 1996 to 2025 Show all 30 yearsHide the table
| Year | Rank | Babies | Change† | 1 in X† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 68 | 650 | +8% | 1 in 438 |
| 2024 | 80 | 603 | +4% | 1 in 480 |
| 2023 | 81 | 579 | +7% | 1 in 497 |
| 2022 | 91 | 539 | +7% | 1 in 547 |
| 2021 | =101 | 506 | +44% | 1 in 602 |
| 2020 | 144 | 352 | +32% | 1 in 851 |
| 2019 | 186 | 267 | +6% | 1 in 1,166 |
| 2018 | =207 | 251 | +40% | 1 in 1,273 |
| 2017 | 273 | 179 | +60% | 1 in 1,849 |
| 2016 | =400 | 112 | +37% | 1 in 3,029 |
| 2015 | =525 | 82 | +67% | 1 in 4,143 |
| 2014 | =794 | 49 | +58% | 1 in 6,907 |
| 2013 * | =1,128 | 31 | +82% | 1 in 11,016 |
| 2012 | =1,720 | 17 | +143% | 1 in 20,901 |
| 2011 | =3,185 | 7 | -30% | 1 in 50,419 |
| 2010 | =2,392 | 10 | +0% | 1 in 35,219 |
| 2009 | =2,326 | 10 | +100% | 1 in 34,410 |
| 2008 | =3,860 | 5 | +25% | 1 in 69,148 |
| 2007 | =4,294 | 4 | -56% | 1 in 83,876 |
| 2006 | =2,320 | 9 | +125% | 1 in 36,352 |
| 2005 | =3,970 | 4 | 1 in 78,804 | |
| 2004 | n/a | under 3 | ||
| 2003 | =3,594 | 4 | 1 in 75,757 | |
| 2002 | n/a | under 3 | ||
| 2001 | =2,466 | 6 | +100% | 1 in 48,330 |
| 2000 | =3,912 | 3 | 1 in 98,269 | |
| 1999 | n/a | under 3 | ||
| 1998 | n/a | under 3 | ||
| 1997 | n/a | under 3 | ||
| 1996 | n/a | under 3 |
* ONS’s girls’ 2013 file repeats the May total as April, so the 2013 births total is about 1,360 too high and 1 in X for 2013 is slightly too high. Rank follows ONS: names with the same count share a rank (shown with =). “Under 3” means the name was given to fewer than 3 babies that year, so ONS did not publish it.
Compare Nova
Share and download
Nova is in the free dataset (CSV and JSON), with the method and how to cite it.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; National Records of Scotland; NISRA. Exact spellings are counted separately and names given to fewer than 3 babies are not published. Figures marked † are Baby Data calculations. How we calculate
Nova is in our lists: Short baby names.