unisex name
Noa
NO-ah
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 3
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 61,344
the United States
#226
2025 births
Noa is a unisex name with two separate origins: a Hebrew girls' name meaning "movement," borne by one of the daughters of Zelophehad, and a short form of Noah. It ranks eighty-fifth in France and 226th in the United States.
- Noa is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in France in 2008, when 3,115 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 570 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1982.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Noa over time
Births per decade in France, 1980s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1980s | 15 |
| 1990s | 470 |
| 2000s | 18,740 |
| 2010s | 16,285 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,490 |
What Noa means
Noa means movement, or motion, in the Hebrew feminine name. Read instead as a form of Noah it means rest or comfort, which is very nearly the opposite, and the two are genuinely different names.
Where Noa comes from
Noa is two names. The Hebrew No'ah, spelled with an ayin, is a woman in the Book of Numbers: one of the five daughters of Zelophehad who petition Moses for the right to inherit their father's land, and win it — one of the earliest recorded arguments for female inheritance. It means movement. The separate Noach, spelled with a het, is the Noah of the flood, meaning rest. The two are distinguished in Hebrew and conflated everywhere else, which is why Noa is a common girls' name in Israel and reads as a boys' name elsewhere. Our data records it as unisex, which reflects that split rather than resolving it.
Noa in use
Noa ranks eighty-fifth in France with about 1,040 births in 2025, 226th in the United States and 228th in England and Wales, so it is one of the more evenly distributed names in this group. Its peak in our records is the most recent year we hold, so it is still climbing. Our data carries it from 1970 and records it as unisex, matching the way the two underlying Hebrew names have merged outside Israel.
How popular is Noa?
In 2025, Noa was given to 1,035 babies in France, ranking #85 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Noa is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Noa is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Noä | Noä is a rare spelling of Noa, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 25 times, mostly in France. | 25 |
| Nôa | Nôa is a rare spelling of Noa, written with a circumflex and recorded about 25 times, mostly in France. | 25 |
| Nöa | Nöa is a rare spelling of Noa, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 15 times, mostly in France. | 15 |
Names that peaked alongside Noa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Noa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Noa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Noa in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Noa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Noa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Noa
What does the name Noa mean?
In the Hebrew feminine name, "movement." Read as a form of Noah it means rest instead.
Is Noa a boy's or a girl's name?
Both. It is a girls' name in Israel and reads as masculine elsewhere; our data records it as unisex.
Who was Noa in the Bible?
One of the five daughters of Zelophehad, who petitioned Moses for the right to inherit and won it.
Is Noa the same as Noah?
No. They are different Hebrew names, spelled differently and meaning opposite things, conflated outside Hebrew.
How popular is the name Noa?
In 2025, Noa was given to 1,035 babies in France, ranking #85 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Noa?
Noa has 2 syllables.
When was Noa most popular?
Noa peaked in 2008, when 3,115 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Noa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Noa currently ranks #85 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.