Noa

Hebrew
"motion"

Noa Origin and Meaning

The name Noa is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "motion".

This Old Testament female name has been one of the most popular girls’ names in Israel over the last decade. Also highly popular in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, and a new entrant to the US Top 1000, it may be misunderstood here as an attempt to streamline and feminize the more familiar Noah – although it's a separate name with a separate derivation.

Now for the confusing bit...

There is a female figure in the Old Testament named Noa or Noah, whose name derives from the Hebrew No'ah, meaning "motion". The popular Biblical male name Noah (sometimes spelled as the streamlined Noa) is derived from a different Hebrew name: Noach "rest, repose" – although confusingly they are often written the same in English.

Noa is the modern Hebrew spelling of the female name, but it is also found as a variant spelling of the male name Noah – popular in countries including France, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Complex backstory notwithstanding, Noa's rise to the charts indicates increased interest in this sleek moniker.

# 298 in the US

Noa Rank in US Top 1000

# 166 on Nameberry

Noa Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Noa Popularity

Famous People Named Noa

  • Noa
    Biblical daughter of Zelophehad who fought for the right to inherit her father's land
  • Noa Tohar Tishby
    Israeli actress/model/singer
  • Achinoam "Noa" Nini
    Israeli singer
  • Noa Netanyahu
    daughter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
  • Noa Igartiburu
    daughter of actress Anne Igartiburu
  • Noa Goossens (b. 2013)
    daughter of gymnast Aagje Vanwalleghem and pole vaulter Denis Goossens

Noa in Pop Culture

  • Dr. Noa Kean
    character on TV's "Code Black"
  • Noa Takigawa
    character in manga "Yamada,kun and the Seven Witches"
  • Noa Izumi
    character manga/anime "Patlabor"

Noa in Nameberry Forums