Given name & surname · also Italian
Novella
Novella is a surname from Italian, ultimately from Catalan. It is used in English and Italian.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Novella comes from Italian, and ultimately from Catalan.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Novella through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,272
- 0 boys · 6,272 girls
- Most popular year
- 1923
- 186 babies
- 2025
- 69
- #2,559 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +12%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 69 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,559 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 11.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 186 in 1923. 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 2,130 as a first name in 2020; 578 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.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Novella
- Novella CalligarisItalian swimmerborn 1954
- Novella MatveyevaRussian poet and singer (1934–2016)
- Novella d'AndreaItalian legal scholar (1312–?)
- Novella NelsonAmerican actress (1939–2017)1938–2017
- Novella Cantarutti1920–2009
- Novella SchiesaroItalian basketball player (born 1973)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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