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I actually know like 5 girls named Nevaeh from ages 17 to 2 years old. I'm not sure how it got so popular. I can't say I like the name, but I don't dislike it either. I personally pronounce it Neh-vay, instead of Neh-vay-uh. I was taught that A before the E makes the long A sound.

Disregarding its etymology, it sounds awfully close to NIVEA, and thus makes me think of hand-cream or shampoo much more than it does of heaven.

I actually don't mind this name. I think it has a pretty nice sound, but I can see why others aren't a fan. This seems largely due to it's trendiness and the fact that it's literally heaven spelled backwards. But honestly, I'd much prefer it to Heaven, because unlike Heaven, it actually sounds like a name, even if it's made-up.

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Also I can't say that I've ever came across any Nevaeh's in my life. If I ever did, I wouldn't have any strong opinion either way really. It has a nice sound I think (as previously mentioned) but I've always been neutral to it. A name that's pretty much just "there"

This message was edited 6/28/2022, 6:59 PM

Though Nevaeh was started on its way by Sonny Sandoval's mentioning his daughter's name on "Cribs", I do think within a couple of years after its rise started it was being discussed widely enough on the Internet that many people who had never heard of P.O.D. had heard of the name. The popularity of the name therefore quickly eclipsed the popularity of the group.

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A question for you would be what is the social class background of the kids you work with? Like most suddenly popular names which are completely new inventions, Nevaeh appealed much more to blue collar parents who did not have college educations. College educated parents are much more likely to want names which have a past history of use, and so are the first to revive names from previous generations that have been out of style for a while. So if the kids you work with mostly have parents with a 4 year college degree or more, it wouldn't be a surprise that you haven't personally run across a Nevaeh.

This message was edited 6/28/2022, 12:22 PM

I’ve met a few Nevaehs. It’s not as bad as some people claim it to be, it’s unlike names like Paisley or Genesis, which sound very tacky and try-hard in my opinion. It’s got a nice sound to it at the very least, despite its weird meaning. When I first heard of it, I thought it was a bit out there, but it’s so common at this point that I don’t even bat an eye when I see it.

I always thought the whole premise of this name was just odd.

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It's got a pseudo-religious connotation, I guess, but not really? I don't know. I speak as a religious person and I don't see much in the way of genuine religious significance.

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I don't know. I've encountered a few in my time, but never as many as one might anticipate considering the degree to which it was popular a decade ago. (It's still in the top 100, but it's birth share has dropped precipitously.)

So I actually love the sound of this name and find the sound itself quite beautiful. I’ve never met anyone with this name to my recollection and would much prefer the spelling Nevaya, because it makes more sense phonetically. POD were absolutely the catalyst for this name coming into existence and exploding in popularity, because it was nowhere until Sonny from the band used it for his daughter.

I work with kids and have had two in the last 5 years, though one was Navaeh, which I was always struggling to remember that spelling. I agree that it sounds pretty, but looks awkward. Also, the heaven backwards thing is cheesy and gimmicky. If someone had just created it from the sound, it would be different, probably more liked and respected and spelled differently like Navaya or Navaia, but if someone does that now, it’s seen as a misspelling of Nevaeh. I’m not sure how it became so popular. I have no idea what P.O.D. is.

I actually don’t think Nevaeh is a bad name. I feel like a lot of name nerds just trash on it because everybody else does. I do genuinely wonder when this name will die off though. I mean although it has a nice sound to it it’s kinda ugly looking, phonetically sticky, and boring as hell at this point. Very Gen-Z. It was fresh in 2000 though. I didn’t even realize the ‘heaven backwards’ thing until much later and that didn’t do anything for me. I’ve misspelled Nevaeh as Neveah a lot of times. I also knew a very not-so-nice girl named Nevaeh. I’m not even paying that “heaven backwards = satanic” thing any attention, it just has a lot of bad stigma around it. It’s a fine name but I wouldn’t use it.

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I also wouldn’t want to be a Nevaeh. Personally, I would just use Celia, or Celeste. Neve too. Names I actually like. If I were forced at gunpoint to it...

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Nevaeh Clarice
Nevaeh Esme
Nevaeh Seren
Nevaeh Rosalie

I've met two people who have had Nevaeh somewhere in their name. One of my old best friend's middle name was Nevaeh and I'm guessing she was religious bc whenever anyone asked her about it she would say "It's Heaven backwards." I knew this other girl with that as her first name and she's the reason I don't like it much bc she was quite mean to me.

I hate the look and sound of Nevaeh. Plus, I find the whole heaven spelt backwards dumb.
It sounds like one of those names Christian extremists like the Duggars would use to feel closer to their god.
Luckily I've never come across it in real life. I've heard of P.O.D, but was unaware of the connection until I Googled it.

Personally, I’ve met two Nevaeh’s in my age group. Anyways, I like the way it sounds and looks. I’m not sure how it became popular. My guess would be that some people liked the “heaven spelled backwards” bit? I just think that it sounds fresh and cool.