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Original poster

Noah/Noa is a girls name across the world.

62 replies

Babyboy2000 · 01/10/2023 22:11

I not sure if many of you have noticed, but I went travelling this summer across many different countries and Noa is a very popular girls name, and there is also a woman in the bible called Noah. I like it and was thinking of perhaps using it. OPINIONS!

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Coffeedrinker7 · 03/10/2023 06:41

@KirstenBlest someone born in 1996 would be 27 now though, so not sure why that’s relevant? The Riley I teach is Year 7, so born in 2011/2012.

In secondary I teach around 200 different kids every year! The names mentioned are not even the most unusual by far. The point I was trying to make is that in that context a female Noa would really not be seen as that unusual.

It may seem in someone’s limited pool of baby groups and friends that all the girls are being called Olivia, Lily, Freya etc but that really is not the case. In my experience, anyway (large state secondary school, pretty average town).

CurlewKate · 03/10/2023 06:55

I didn't know there was a woman called Noah in the Bible. Where is she?

KirstenBlest · 03/10/2023 06:57

Someone else mentioned 1996. The children I know have a variety of names and I can only think of one each of Olivia, Lily and Freya. There are duplicates of names outside the top 100 and top 200.

KirstenBlest · 03/10/2023 06:58

@CurlewKate , in the ark with Mr Noah.

CurlewKate · 03/10/2023 07:00

But please don't use boy's names for girls unless you also use girl's names for boys. It's so depressingly sexist.

RafaistheKingofClay · 03/10/2023 07:01

miniaturepixieonacid · 02/10/2023 16:36

Those names are hardly ever used for girls, so it's unlikely that you have taught all of them

Eh? They're not 'hardly ever used'. Why would that be made up. I've also taught a female Jamie, Riley, Sydney and Charlie and three of those were in a rural, 'posh' independent school in the South East. The only one I'm missing is Casey and I haven't taught a male or a female one of those. So not at all difficult to imagine that another teacher has taught all five, especially as those kind of unisex names are more popular in some areas and demographics than others - and I don't think private schools in the home counties will be top of that list! Even if a name is relatively rare, the chances of coming across it during a teaching career are pretty high.

I think Noa is pretty but would spell it without the h for a girl, definitely.

I was about to say Casey is the only one of those I haven’t taught.

Not particularly common is not the same as so rare you will never come across one. Not every girl in a class is called Olivia or some variation of Ellie/Ella.

EllaDisenchanted · 03/10/2023 07:11

Noa and Noah sound very different in Hebrew and wouldn’t be confused and Noa is very sweet. I’m still marveling that someone called a girl Ezra, that sounds bizarre to me. Like calling a girl Alan or Colin. Just so firmly male.

ETA I’m Jewish and Noa is not uncommon in my circles, and as Noah is pronounced Noakh or Noy-akh, culturally it wouldn’t be confused with Noa, so wouldn’t cause a girl problems with bullying. I think it’s a nice name, but if culturally you risk your daughter being teased then I wouldn’t use it.

KirstenBlest · 03/10/2023 07:25

@CurlewKate , I agree.

One of my acquaintances has a daughter with a feminised version of a boy's name (e.g. Albie short for Alberte) and as she is DD2 it looks so much like they wanted a boy. The DD1 has a standard girl's name.

lilyblue5 · 03/10/2023 07:26

Please stick with Noa if you are going to do it, don’t add the H or people will think it’s a boy

KirstenBlest · 03/10/2023 07:34

@CurlewKate , Numbers 26:33

CurlewKate · 03/10/2023 08:59

@KirstenBlest Ah, yes.I know about her, but I've only ever seen her spelled Noa as a transliteration of the Hebrew.

KirstenBlest · 03/10/2023 09:07

The version I looked up had her as 'Noah'

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