Girl · #3,111 in 2026

Novella

Name: Popularity of the name Novella in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Novella, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

A novella is a book of narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word "novella" derives from the Italian novella meaning a short story related to true facts.

Italian

Current Rank

#3,111

Peak Rank

#490 (1923)

Total Babies

5-Yr Trend

+2%

1882

First Year

2026

Last Year

1923

Peak Year

#490

Peak Rank

Total Count

141

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Novella

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

Italian

Origin & history

The novella as a literary genre began developing in the Italian literature of the early Renaissance , principally by Giovanni Boccaccio , author of The Decameron (1353). The Decameron featured 100 tales (named novellas) told by ten people (seven women and three men) fleeing the Black Death , by escaping from Florence to the Fiesole hills in 1348. This structure was then imitated by subsequent authors, notably the French queen Marguerite de Navarre , whose Heptaméron (1559) included 72 original French tales and was modeled after the structure of The Decameron . The Italian genre novella grew ou

The Story of Novella

Novella first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1882, with 6 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1923, when 186 Novellas were born — ranking #513 that year. As of 2026, Novella ranks #3,111 for baby girls with 52 births, holding steady (+2%). In total, more than 6K Novellas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Novella

Phonetically similar names — useful when Novella is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Novela
Novelli
Novello
Novelly
Novell
Noella
Novellas
Novellus
Novelle
Novia
Nevel
Nouvelle

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Novella

What does the name Novella mean?

What is the origin of the name Novella?

Novella has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Italian.

How popular is Novella in 2026?

In 2026, Novella ranks #3,111 among girls' names in the U.S., with 52 babies given the name that year.

When was Novella most popular?

Novella reached its peak popularity in 1923, ranking #490 that year with 186 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Novella most popular?

Novella has historically been most popular in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Novella.

Is Novella a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Novella is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Novella?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Novella include Celestine, Ronnie, Janell. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Novella

Novella is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1882 and has accumulated 6K births in the dataset. Novella's peak popularity came in 1923 when it ranked #490. Use the chart and map above to compare Novella's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.