I always assumed this favourite of mine was from the Latin for new, and a search on Behind the Name confirmed this.
However, Nameberry says it is a Greek name meaning ‘chasing butterflies’. Is this also true? Could anyone offer an explanation of the origin, or some sort of proof?
[name]Auburn[/name]
I have no idea how [name]Nova[/name] could mean “chasing butterflies.” behindthename.com says it is Latin for “new” and first used as a name in the 19th century.
[name]Nova[/name] is a name that is Latin as well as Natvie American. In Latin the meaning is “new” in Hopi is means “chasing butterflies”.
It’s weird that they put the name up the Hopi meaning and said it was Greek.
Excelent name, btw.
When I see [name]Nova[/name], I think of the [name]Chevy[/name] [name]Nova[/name] which didn’t sell well in Spanish speaking countries because No va means something like “It doesn’t go” in Spanish.
I found the dictionary definition of nova very helpful:
In astronomy, “a star that suddenly becomes thousands of times brighter and then gradually fades to its original intensity.”
It got the name “nova” because these stars were not visible and when they became brighter, were thought to be new stars, as “nova” is Latin for “new.” Along the page I posted at dictionary.com, there should be various sources for similar or more descriptive information.
I do not know if it is a name, it seems to be just a latin word? It would be a pretty name with a nice meaning - “new” is a great meaning. I do not really care if in spanish, it means “doesn’t go,” that is a pretty lame reason to avoid it.
When the data was transferred from the book The [name]Baby[/name] Name Bible to Nameberry, occasionally the derivation got condensed as it did here. In the book, it read Greek, “new” and Native American, Hopi, “chasing butterflies.” The way it is set up online, we can only use a limited nyumber of characters in the definitions–but I’ll fix it now.
I actually did a post on native american names recently. Go to Native American Baby Names for English Speakers
there it list [name]Nova[/name] as a commonly mistranslated word.
[name]Nova[/name] means “food” in Hopi. There is another word that looks similar to [name]Nova[/name] that mean “chase” but it’s spelled and pronounced differently and has no connection to butterflies. Take a look at the website!
Actually, what happens is when there are two (or more) origins and meanings, the database automatically takes the first origin and the last meaning. We’ve had to correct these one by one! Sorry for any confusion.