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For the Design the Skyline album, see Nevaeh (album).
Pronunciation /nəˈv.ə/ nə-VAY
Gender female
Word/name English
Meaning "Heaven" backwards
Other names
Nickname(s) Vaeh
Related names Heaven

Nevaeh is a modern feminine name created by writing the word heaven backwards.

History and meaning[edit]

The name Nevaeh is the word "Heaven" spelled backwards. An erroneous belief is that the name has an Irish origin, a variation of the name Niamh.It is also still common in Ireland today. However, Nevaeh is recently coined and American.[1]

Pronunciation and spelling[edit]

There are numerous pronunciations used for this name but the two most popular pronunciations for this name are /nəˈv.ə/ nə-VAY and /nəˈv/ nə-VAY. A common Australian pronunciation is /nəˈv.ə/ nə-VY. Because of pronunciation difficulties it is often respelled as Neveah, switching the ‹e› and ‹a› (as the one of Neveah Gallegos and possibly Nevea Tears). Other spelling variations such as Naveah have been used.


Though there were eight girls named Nevaeh in the United States in 1999, Nevaeh was an extremely rare given name before singer Sonny Sandoval of the rock group P.O.D. named his daughter Nevaeh in 2000. He was then featured in the fall of that year on the television program MTV Cribs, and use of the name became widespread.[2]

Nevaeh first entered the top 1000 names for girls born in the United States in 2001 when its popularity shot up making it the 266th most common name, according to the US Social Security Administration.[3] By 2010, it was the 25th most popular given name overall for all girls born in the United States in that year. It was the third most popular name for black girls born in New York City in 2010 and the third most popular name given to girls born in 2010 in New Mexico, the state where it is most popular; Nevaeh did not appear among the top 10 names in any other state in that year.[4][5] In 2007 it was the top name among black girls born in Colorado.[6]

Though the name's use the first year or two of its popularity can probably be attributed to Sonny Sandoval's daughter, the further spread of Nevaeh’s popularity since is in large part an Internet phenomenon. The name is widely known and discussed on baby naming boards. It has acquired a meaning of "child from heaven".[7]

The name gained exposure on the reality TV show Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, when contestant Heather strongly insisted on being referred to as Nevaeh, a name she had recently adopted to further her singing career. The other participants refused to indulge her in this, calling it ridiculous, and she was expelled in the second episode.

It has also been used as a wrestling ring name; Shimmer Women Athletes wrestler, Nevaeh has been wrestling professionally since 2005 and has used it as her ring name since her debut.

Nevaeh is also the name of an album (Neveah, by Design the Skyline) and of a Contemporary Christian group.[8]

In 1986 Prince created a song called "Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A" which is "A Place In Heaven" spelled backwards.[9]


  1. ^ Griffin, Jennifer (2014). 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time. Workman Publishing. p. ix. ISBN 9780761181286. 
  2. ^ Wood, Sandy; Kovalchik, Kara (2008). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fun FAQs. Penguin. p. 94. ISBN 9781440636257. 
  3. ^ Social Security Administration.
  4. ^ Social Security Administration.
  5. ^ Lee, Jennifer 8. (2006-05-18). "And if It's a Boy, Will It Be Lleh?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-09-21. 
  6. ^ Satran, Pamela Redmond; Rosenkrantz, Linda (2007). The Baby Name Bible: The Ultimate Guide By America's Baby-Naming Experts. Macmillan. p. 235. ISBN 9780312352202. 
  7. ^ Larseon, Emily (2013). The 2014 Baby Names Almanac. Sourcebooks. p. 168. ISBN 9781402286483. 
  8. ^
  9. ^

External links[edit]