Noah: a Hebrew name meaning “rest”
Noah comes from Hebrew Noaḥ, meaning “rest” or “repose.” Its most familiar bearer is the biblical builder of the ark, whose story gives the name an enduring association with the Flood and the rainbow. English usually says NOH-uh, with two syllables and stress on the first.
The name combines an ancient narrative with exceptional modern popularity. It has become one of the leading boys’ names in the United States, while Noah Webster supplies a different historical connection with books, education, and the development of American English.
Noah and the ark
In Genesis, Noah builds the ark that carries his family and animals through the Flood. Afterward, the rainbow becomes the sign of God’s covenant. His sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth belong to the continuation of that family story.
The ark makes Noah especially recognizable in illustrated children’s books and retellings of biblical narratives. It supplies a concrete scene associated with the name: a vessel preserving life through a great flood, followed by a promise marked by the rainbow.
Noah entered English Christian naming use after the Protestant Reformation and was familiar among the Puritans. Its later American rise was much more recent, gaining momentum from the 1970s and increasing sharply during the 1990s.
Noah Webster and American English
Noah Webster was born in Connecticut in 1758 and graduated from Yale in 1778. Working as a teacher helped direct his attention toward the books used in American schools. In 1783, he published A Grammatical Institute of the English Language, later widely known as the Blue-Backed Speller.
Webster wanted schoolbooks suited to American readers. He later turned to dictionaries, publishing A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language in 1806 and completing his larger American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828.
His work promoted familiar American spellings such as color in place of colour. That long involvement with reading, spelling, and definitions gives Noah a significant educational namesake as well as its biblical identity.
Pronunciation and a separate Noa tradition
English NOH-uh has an open final vowel, with the written h remaining silent. Its two syllables make the full name compact enough to use in everyday conversation without shortening.
Noa can represent a form of the masculine Noah family in some languages. It is also a separate Hebrew feminine biblical name with a different origin. The two traditions can look almost identical in English letters, so the masculine Noah’s “rest” meaning belongs specifically to its Noaḥ history.
Popularity in the United States
Noah first reached number one among American boys in 2013 and held the top position through 2016. It ranked second in both 2020 and 2025. Its largest annual count came in 2024, with 20,409 boys receiving the name.
The same spelling also appears in girls’ records: Noah ranked 624 for girls in 2025. The dominant American use remains masculine, but the published records show that the written name is not used exclusively for boys. Its current prominence places an ancient biblical name among the most familiar choices of a new generation.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Meaning and history draw on the references below. American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling; counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.
How popular is Noah?
In 2025, Noah ranked #2 among boys in the United States, with 20,358 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for boys in 1880; its largest annual count was 20,409 in 2024. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.