The name Nevaeh is truly unique in its origin. This popular girl's name is "heaven" spelled backward.
Two opinions exist about the true origin of the name. One opinion, often cited in error, is that Nevaeh comes from the Irish name "Niamh" (pronounced "neev"), which means "bright" or "radiant." While the two names sound similar, there's no real proof that Nevaeh is an off-shoot of the Old Irish name.
The more accepted origin of the name traces back to Sonny Sandoval, a musician and the lead member of the rock band P.O.D. In 2000, Sandoval named his daughter Nevaeh, and soon after the name skyrocketed in popularity.
Around this same time, P.O.D. was gaining fame, regularly making music charts in the United States and abroad. Naturally, when Sandoval appeared on a TV show and shared that his daughter's name was Nevaeh, the name took off.
But Sandoval isn't the only parent to think of this creative way to name their child. Nomar Garciaparra, a retired Major League Baseball player, says his name is his father Roman's name spelled backward.
The baby name trend of spelling names backward picked up at the turn of the millennium. Some clever parents even chose names spelled forward and backward for their twins: Take Nadia and Aidan, Noel and Leon, and Ila and Ali, for example. Also, some palindromes – words that read the same backward and forward – became popular names. (Think Otto, Ava, Elle, and Hannah.)
It's amazing how fast Nevaeh rose up the list of popular baby names. It debuted on the Social Security Administration's list of the 1,000 most popular girl's names in 2001 at number 266. Within five years, it shot up to the top 50 and stayed there for nearly a decade, peaking at number 25 in 2010.
The name's popularity has since declined somewhat, but it was still in the top 100 most popular names in 2020. Nevaeh is also a top-100 name among BabyCenter parents, hundreds of thousands of whom share their babies' names with us each year.
Neveah is a trendsetting name with celestial significance and a unique twist – the perfect recipe for a longtime favorite among parents looking for a distinctive name for their baby.
