Given name & surname
Neva
“from the place covered with snow”
Neva is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “from the place covered with snow.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “from the place covered with snow.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Neva through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 21,226
- 6 boys · 21,220 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 558 babies
- 2025
- 47
- #3,333 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −33%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 47 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 3,333 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 32.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 558 in 1920. In 2025, Ohio had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,621 as a first name in 2020; 348 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Neva’s family of names
In Finnish usage, Neva as a surname shares a linguistic root with the Swedish form NY. Neva has a related form in Neve. Neva has a related form in Nieve.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Neva
- Neva Gerberactress (1894–1974)1891–1974
- Neva PattersonAmerican film, stage and television actress (1920–2010)
- Neva MorrisAmerican supercentenarian (1895–2010)
- Neva Abelsonphysician1910–2000
- Neva LeoniItalian actressborn 1992
- Neva KrystevaBulgarian composer and organistborn 1946
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Neva, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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