[name]Hi[/name] all! First post here, looks like a pretty cool place.
Anyway. [name]Long[/name] story short, I want to name my daughter [name]Noah[/name], after my brother. I know it’s a pretty masculine name and apparently some people REALLY care about what other people name their kids (I asked a couple of questions about it on Yahoo Answers…), so I’m trying to get other opinions on it. We’ve thought about [name]Noelle[/name] or [name]Norah[/name] instead but don’t quite like them enough, and we’ve considered [name]Noa[/name] but my husband thinks it looks awkward and everyone will always misspell it. We keep coming back to [name]Noah[/name], and the more I say it and think about it the more I can see it being feminine, especially with a girly middle name.
Could [name]Noah[/name] be used for a girl, or is it too weird?
I’m one of those people that is pretty emphatic for boys’ names (and unisex names) to stay with the boys… but that being said, in the Bible, [name]Noah[/name] is obviously a huge Bible character… even a lot of people who aren’t Christians at least know that there was a [name]Noah[/name] in the Bible. However, it is a lesser-known fact that there was also a woman in the Bible named [name]Noah[/name] (this spelling, too). They were [name]Noah[/name], [name]Mahlah[/name], [name]Tirzah[/name], [name]Milcah[/name], and Hoglah. [name]Noa[/name] is a legitimate Hebrew girls’ name, but apparently, the [name]Noah[/name] spelling is, too. I don’t like the idea that [name]Noah[/name] could go to the girls’ and I could lose another favorite boys’ name, but [name]Noah[/name] seems to be a legitimate girls’ name so I don’t see why you couldn’t use it if that’s what you love. I do like the idea of using a name like [name]Noelle[/name] with the nn [name]Noa[/name]/[name]Noah[/name]… but I still think you could just do [name]Noah[/name] if you want to, though.
I think there could be a lot of confusion, but it’s not totally un-usable. What about [name]Nova[/name] or [name]Nona[/name]? You could also use your brother’s initials to honor him
[name]Noah[/name] feels like a definite boy name to me, however you have a very personal reason wanting to use it so who cares what anyone else thinks. If I were going to use it I would use the [name]Noa[/name] spelling though. She will already have a unique name for a girl so people will ask the spelling anyway. I would not assume the n-o-a-h spelling would be intuitive if it were a girl. Either way, go for it if you love it!
I’ve known a female [name]Noah[/name] so I think it’s very useable. It helps that she was a great person and beautiful too. I have [name]Noemi[/name] nn [name]Noa[/name] on my list so obviously I have no qualms! Good [name]Luck[/name]!
It is traditionally a male name, and not one I would ever use on a girl… but there is a trend going around of using boys names on girls, and I think [name]Noah[/name] could work.
Might be a good idea to team it with a very girly middle name.
When I was a kid, my favorite video game had a female charactor named [name]Noa[/name]. So I guess I’m kind of used to it, and it doesnt bother me. But the spelling [name]Noah[/name] is all boy to me.
I think the spelling [name]Noa[/name] on a girl actually might be somewhat intuitive if you live an area with a large enough Jewish population. FWIW I am not Jewish but have long lived in areas with a large Jewish population and would definitely guess [name]Noa[/name] if I heard of a girl with the name. PP is right though that there is Biblical basis for [name]Noah[/name] spelling on a girl too though.
I also like the suggestion of [name]Noemi[/name] (I prefer [name]Naomi[/name] but [name]Noemi[/name] is also lovely and close in sound. I think on some sites they are given as related in meaning, but not here). Same for [name]Noelle[/name], [name]Nola[/name], etc. I feel like these other names will in some cases give the girl more nickname options - that could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your taste.
Apparently [name]Billy[/name] [name]Ray[/name] [name]Cyrus[/name] named a daughter [name]Noah[/name] (per NB), so, it may get some coverage as a girls’ name (and also be associated with him).
I like [name]Noa[/name] on a girl fine. [name]Noah[/name] would surprise me, but, I don’t get as riled up as some, and as others have said, the meaning to you is clearly very important.
I like [name]Noa[/name] better than [name]Noah[/name] for a girl personally. Another option may be [name]Noelia[/name]. Or, you could try a double first name like [name]Noa/name [name]Rose[/name] to clarify that she is a she. I also like the suggestion of [name]Noemi[/name].
No. [name]Noah[/name] is 100% boy to me (I’m pretty sure it’s top 20 at least for boys isn’t it?). [name]Noa[/name] is a girl’s name. I don’t personally like it but if you’re going to go with it, I’d spell it [name]Noa[/name]. I think using either will lead to a LOT of confusion, but at least [name]Noa[/name] is actually a girl’s name.
What about [name]Nora[/name]? That’s really close to [name]Noah[/name] and I love it soooo much more!
ETA: Missed that you were thinking of [name]Norah[/name]. I like it way more. I can’t stand a majority of boy names on girls so [name]Noah[/name] will never get an ok from me, sorry!
If you must use [name]Noah[/name], spell it [name]Noa[/name]. As [name]Noah[/name] is one of my favourite names for a boy, I’m not a fan of using it on a girl.
[name]Norah[/name] is beautiful alternative
I love [name]Noa[/name], but the h makes it very masculine to me! The only girl named [name]Noah[/name], with the h, that I can think of is [name]Billy[/name] [name]Ray[/name] [name]Cyrus[/name]’ daughter so it seems a little celebrity to me. I love [name]Noelle[/name] with the nn [name]Noa[/name] I think it is just perfect, and a perfect way to honor your brother
Total [name]Honesty[/name] Disclaimer: I have a son named [name]Noah[/name], so I obviously prefer it for boys.
I really wouldn’t blink at a girl named [name]Noa[/name], but I’d expect a [name]Noah[/name] to be male. It’s a reasonable assumption and one a female [name]Noah[/name] would run into over and over and over again. After all, in 2010 there were only 79 female Noahs compared to 16281 boy Noahs!
Yes, there is a biblical precedent for using [name]Noah[/name] on a girl…as well as a [name]Billy[/name] [name]Ray[/name] [name]Cyrus[/name] precedent, which isn’t nearly so impressive. For me the bottom line, though, is that [name]Noah[/name] is currently the #7 name for boys in the U.S., pushing hard toward the top 5. I’m not opposed to unisex names (or even a little outright onomastic genderbending) for either sex, but I think it’s a bad idea to take a name that’s hugely popular for one sex and give it to a child of the opposite sex. [name]Just[/name] as I wouldn’t want to be a boy [name]Madison[/name] in this day and age, I wouldn’t want to be a girl [name]Noah[/name].
I recommend using [name]Noa[/name], opting for something similar like [name]Nora[/name], or saving [name]Noah[/name] for the middle spot.
I have heard [name]Noa[/name] before, I think it is a lovely name & the ‘a’ ending makes it definitely feminine to me. You could also consider other girl’s names with the same sound: [name]Elenoa[/name], [name]Genoa[/name], [name]Inoa[/name]?
If you really want the masculine ‘[name]Noah[/name]’ spelling I would be inclined to keep it as a mn.
I love [name]Noah[/name]/[name]Noa[/name] for a girl! I couldn’t get my husband to go for it, but it is one of my favorite unisex names. It is very pretty for a girl, and I actually think it is to feminine for boys. [name]Just[/name] my opinion!
Thank you all for the input and suggestions! My husband and I were working on our list earlier and I think we have definitely decided to go with [name]Noa[/name] or [name]Noah[/name]. (Hubby actually really likes [name]Noah[/name] for a girl but dislikes [name]Noa[/name], and also dislikes and [name]Norah[/name] and [name]Nova[/name] which I love, go figure. We don’t agree on much, names-wise.) No matter how we spell it, we’re pairing it with a very feminine mn. I’d like to give her more options in case she ever decides she’d rather have a girly name. Boy names on girls are pretty common where we live (some that I would never even consider giving to a girl) and I know a few girls who have done that. We have a list going but haven’t fallen in love with anything yet. We’ve talked about using [name]Noah[/name] as the mn, but naturally couldn’t agree on a first name that sounded good. Our three names we had planned for girls don’t work with it at all so we had to start from scratch, lol.
I think honoring your brother is wonderful. Although i usually am not a fan of using boys names on girls i think [name]Noa[/name] actually works really well on a girl and is a legit girls name. I do not like the spelling [name]Noah[/name] though only because it is such a common boys name that when People read it They will always assume she is a boy where as if i read [name]Noa[/name] i would definitely think little girl
For me the bottom line, though, is that [name]Noah[/name] is currently the