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Name at a glance

Noah

Noah is a Hebrew name commonly connected with rest or comfort.

Ranked #2 in US baby names in 2025, stable over the past 5 years.

Noah is one of the best-known figures in Genesis and a major name in Christian, Jewish, and broader cultural memory.

Browse namesRead Noah's story
OriginHebrew
GenderBoy
FeelPeaceful
PronunciationNOH-uh

Is Noah biblical?

Yes

Biblical status Direct biblical person

Noah is a named person in Scripture, the Genesis patriarch who built the ark, survived the flood, and received God's covenant.

Is Noah a Christian name?

Yes

Christian tradition Foundational, across traditions

Noah has been used in Christian families for centuries and is treated as a major biblical figure across Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Evangelical traditions.

Plain answer

Noah is a central Genesis figure and a foundational Christian name with centuries of use across major traditions.

Confidence High Last reviewed July 19, 2026 How this works

Meaning

The meaning of Noah

Noah comes from the Hebrew Noach and is usually connected with the idea of rest. Genesis also links the name with comfort, which fits the story's larger movement from a broken world toward a preserved family and a renewed beginning.

Sound

How to pronounce Noah

Phonetic
NOH-uh
IPA
/ˈnoʊə/

2 syllables · stress: NOH-uh · ends in a vowel

Forms

Variants and nicknames

Alternate spellings

  • Noe
  • Noach
  • Noé
  • Nuh
  • Noak

Short forms and nicknames

  • No

Languages

Noah in other languages

Hebrew
נֹחַNoach
Greek
ΝῶεNōe
Latin
Noe
Spanish
Noé
French
Noé
German
Noah
Italian
Noè
Russian
НойNoy
Arabic
نُوحNuh

Christian background

Christian and biblical background

Noah appears in Genesis and is later mentioned in the New Testament. Christian tradition often reads his story as a warning about judgment and a sign of rescue, while also remembering the covenant sign that follows the flood.

Scripture

The biblical figure

In Genesis, Noah is the man who builds the ark, preserves his family and the animals, and receives God's covenant after the flood. His story is familiar, but it is more than a children's ark scene. It is a story about corruption, obedience, rescue, and a new beginning.

Read the full story of Noah in the Bible

Bearers

Notable people named Noah

  • biblical

    NoahTenth from Adam in Genesis, builder of the ark and recipient of God's covenant after the flood

  • historical

    Noah WebsterAmerican lexicographer, author of An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1758 to 1843

  • modern

    Noah BaumbachAmerican filmmaker known for Marriage Story and The Squid and the Whale, born 1969

  • modern

    Noah CentineoAmerican actor known for To All the Boys I've Loved Before, born 1996

  • modern

    Noah KahanAmerican singer-songwriter, born 1997

Naming history

Naming tradition and history

Noah has been used in Christian families for centuries, but its modern US popularity has been especially strong in the twenty-first century. It combines an ancient biblical story with a soft, simple sound that works easily in modern naming.

Recent US use

Noah in recent US use

Rank in 2025
#2
Peak rank
#1 in 2013
Recent trend
stable over the last 5 years
Years in the SSA records
146 (since 1880)

Source: US Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880-2025.

Across genders

Use across genders

Noah is overwhelmingly used as a boys' name, but also appears in the SSA girls' records, ranked around 624 in the 2025 data. The cross-gender use is small relative to the boys' total but has been steady enough to register in the girls' top 1000 for several decades.

Across cultures

Use across cultures

Noah crossed from a primarily Hebrew biblical context into broad American mainstream use across the 2000s and 2010s. The shift was notable for crossing community boundaries broadly, taken up across Christian, Jewish, secular, and African American families in a way that earlier waves of biblical-name revivals (Joshua in the 1980s, for instance) did less universally.

Sibling fit

Sibling name suggestions

Phonetic neighbours

Names that sound similar to Noah

  • Jonah · Both two-syllable Hebrew Bible names with the same closing -ah ending; similar gentle rhythm in modern English use.
  • Leah · Both two-syllable Hebrew Bible names ending in the soft -ah sound; cross-gender phonetic neighbours that pair as sibling-name pattern.
  • Micah · Both two-syllable Hebrew Bible names with the same -ah ending; quiet consonants throughout, gentle rhythm.

For families

For families looking at Noah

For a Christian family, Noah signals peace, steadiness, and one of the Bible's most recognizable stories. It is easy for grandparents, godparents, and congregations to understand without explanation.

Common questions

What does Noah mean?

Noah is usually connected with rest or comfort. The name comes from Hebrew.

Is Noah a biblical name?

Yes. Noah is the main figure in the Genesis flood story.

Is Noah a Christian name?

Yes. Noah has long been used by Christians because of its biblical story and its themes of rescue, covenant, and new beginning.

Sources

Sources for Noah

  • A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Brown, Driver, and BriggsSupports: Hebrew etymology (rest / comfort, from Noach); meaning.
  • Genesis, King James Version (KJV 1769)Supports: biblical figure (ark-builder, Genesis 6:8).
  • National baby names data, US Social Security Administration (2025 release)Supports: US popularity.

Last reviewed July 19, 2026. See our methodology, or report an error on the corrections page.

Read next

Related names

ElijahAnother strong Old Testament Hebrew name with a direct theological meaning; both Noah and Elijah are remembered as figures of obedience under impossible circumstances.IsaacBoth are Genesis covenant figures; Isaac and Noah each receive a direct divine promise that frames the next stage of the narrative.JoshuaBoth Noah and Joshua name pivotal transition moments: Noah from old world to new, Joshua from wilderness to land.