The baby name Naomi combines Biblical roots with a distinctive sound.
Thanks to Sassy for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME NAOMI MEAN?
Chances are you know the basics of Naomi’s story from the Old Testament. Her husband dies, as do her sons. But her daughter-in-law, Ruth, insists on staying by Naomi’s side. The widows travel to Naomi’s home, Judea, together. Ruth eventually remarries, and Naomi is finally a grandmother.
It’s easy to dismiss Naomi as bitter – after all, that’s what she tells everyone to call her. But she’s also a noble figure, earning Ruth’s loyalty. And she encourages Ruth’s marriage to Boaz.
There are many readings of Naomi’s story, some favorable to the figure. Others, not so much. Ultimately, she endures significant heartache and adversity to find a happy ending. That feels noteworthy.
The name comes from Hebrew roots. It means pleasantness, and is a cousin to the masculine name Noam.
Like many Old Testament gems, the baby name Naomi was rare for Christian families until the Protestant Reformation.
NOTABLE NAOMIS
Along the way, plenty of notable women have answered to the name, including:
- Oscar-nominated actress Naomi Watts.
- Tennis champ Naomi Osaka.
- Country music legend Naomi Judd – born Diana.
- Supermodel Naomi Campbell.
Other figures, including athletes and writers, round out the list. 90210 and Private Practice both gave us fictional Naomis on the small screen, along with plenty of other fictional uses. Ava DuVernay directed one season of Naomi for The CW, a television series about a teenager with super powers, based on a comic book series.
One tragic story: Joe Biden, 46th president of the United States, lost his young daughter, Naomi, and his first wife, Neilia, to a car accident early in his political career.
CULTURE-SPANNING NAME
Like many a Biblical name, Naomi works across several languages.
Other forms of the name include:
- Noemi
- Noemie
- Noemia
- Noomi
- Nohemi
Interesting, Naomi also occurs in Japanese.
Nao can mean honest or straight; the second syllable might mean beautiful or self. It’s unisex in Japanese. As always, the kanji – or characters – used to spell the name determine the precise meaning. Explorer Naomi Uemura became famous for traveling to the North Pole, rafting the Amazon, peaking Denali – all on his own.
Speaking of mountains, the Wasatch-Cache National Forest stretches across Utah and Idaho. Mount Naomi sits in the forest, the highest peak in the Bear River Mountains.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME NAOMI?
American parents have long embraced the baby name Naomi.
The name has ranked in the US Top 1000 every single year since rankings were first complied for the year 1880.
Since 2010, Naomi has appeared in the US Top 1000, currently standing at #47 as of 2025. That’s just a bit below the name’s all-time peak of #44 in 2023/24.
Noemi also charts, at #583.
Call it an almost classic. It fits with Rebecca and Rachel, Sarah and Abigail. The names rise and fall in use, but Naomi’s story as Ruth’s mother-in-law, keeps this Biblical name familiar, generation after generation.
The first version of this post, from 2009, asked “… could Naomi break into the US Top 100 in the next few years?”
That’s exactly what happened.
It remains the perfect name for parents looking for something timeless but still surprising.
DISTINCTIVE AND FAMILIAR
Despite rising popularity, Naomi remains memorable. It feels feminine and substantial, traditional but not too expected.
It’s somewhere between buttoned-up Anne and modern Leilani. Vowel-forward, effortlessly global, and yet rooted in a long tradition. That makes it the perfect baby name for parents balancing the new and the evergreen.
What do you think of the baby name Naomi?
First published on June 15, 2009, this post was revised substantially on June 7, 2020 and again on June 15, 2026.
We named our daughter Naimah, the Arabic version of Naomi. The name came about when we were considering the name Noam for a boy.
Lovely name!
Ah! Sorry to be the dissenting voice here, but I don’t love Naomi. I think she’s pretty enough, and I don’t hate her; I just don’t feel anything for her really. The fact that I grew up surrounded by them in the 80s and 90s probably skews my view though!
Also loving this name
I like Naomi. I like that she has an exotic and mysterious vibe yet is classic at the same time. I like the fact that it can be used just about anywhere in the world.
Naomi’s becoming more and more unusual to my ears as I grow older. As a child, I had a number of friends named Naomi, now I haven’t met a Naomi in years. Because of this, it’s beginning to have a fresh appeal to me. However, I still don’t think I could use it on one of my own because it has hints of attachments to the siblings’ names of the child Naomis I knew.
Naomi was on one of my first lists of girl names last year, but the husband isn’t a fan. Sigh. I think if it weren’t for the husband, I’d have no trouble naming our daughter! He nixes a lot of my suggestions.
I love Naomi. It’s just a little too common for me though, but it’s great in the middle name spot.
Emmy Jo, Naomi Sarah is a beautiful name. I normally dislike the H in Sarah but it works well in this case.
I agree, Naomi is a good name! Easy to pronounce, good sound, not too common, etc.
Naomi Sarah is pretty! I know of an Anna Naomi. Too many “na’s” I think…
Noami is really lovely. The sound is so open with the O in the middle and, while it’s not one I’ll use, I love to hear it on other’s girls. (Oddly, Noemi loses that great sound and flow in my ears and just sounds like you’re scolding little Emmy – “No Emmy!”) I’ve only known one Naomi personally, she is Japanese-American and her parents chose the name specifically because it was Japanese but easily understood in the US. Yes, Noami really has so much going for it – great name!
I heartily endorse Naomi. It’s feminine, strong, multicultural, timeless, and so distinctive.
Some friends of mine recently named their daughter Naomi Sarah. Isn’t that pretty?