| Nova | Stella | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | New | Star |
| Origin | Latin | Latin |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | NOH-vuh | STEL-uh |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1885 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2022 (5,927) | 2018 (5,164) |
| In 2025 | 4,657 | 4,136 |
| Trend | Rising | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Nova | Stella |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 31,518 | 27,117 |
| 2010s | 18,057 | 44,225 |
| 2000s | 1,221 | 11,843 |
| 1990s | 289 | 1,798 |
| 1980s | 360 | 1,867 |
| 1970s | 589 | 2,563 |
| 1960s | 402 | 4,957 |
| 1950s | 283 | 8,591 |
| 1940s | 369 | 11,363 |
| 1930s | 657 | 11,206 |
| 1920s | 891 | 25,899 |
| 1910s | 629 | 28,526 |
| 1900s | 279 | 11,014 |
| 1890s | 187 | 9,807 |
| 1880s | 52 | 6,130 |
Nova comes from the Latin novus, “new.” In astronomy, a nova is a star that suddenly brightens.
Stella is the Latin word for “star.” It was coined as a given name by the poet Sir Philip Sidney in the 16th century.
Nova is more popular than Stella today: about 4,657 US babies were given the name Nova in 2025, compared with 4,136 named Stella.
Nova means New (Latin origin), while Stella means Star (Latin origin).
In US records, Nova first appears in 1885 and Stella in 1880, so Stella has the longer recorded history.