Baby Name of the Day: Navy

The baby name Navy might just follow Scarlett and Ivy into the US Top 100 – eventually.

Thanks to Luisa for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME NAVY MEAN?

Back in the day, the word navy referred to a fleet of ships, from the Latin navis, ship. Navis gives us navigate and navigator, too. Eventually, the term was applied to a nation’s ships and personnel and sea power, in the broadest sense.

So that makes the baby name Navy thoroughly nautical, and that image of the high seas suggests an adventurous spirit.

NAVY BLUE

When it comes to the color, British sailors wore it first. 

Some say they adopted the hue of blue because it signified trust. Or maybe it was simply the color of the sea. In any case, they started wearing it in the 1700s. By the 1800s, they’d lent the color its name: navy blue.

The blue worn by sailors has darkened over the years, to the color we think of today, an inky, almost black.

COLORFUL NAME CHOICE

Some color names filtered into use as surnames. That’s true for Green and Pink and White and Brown, but also applies to some you might not expect, like Scarlett. 

Add in foreign color names, and the number skyrockets. Many of those surnames made their way into general use as given names, at least some of the time.

But you won’t find Navy among them.

It first surfaces in the United States name data in 1985, which makes Navy among the newest of names.

A handful of people with the name do appear in US Census data beforehand. It might be short for a longer Nav- name, like Navarro or Naveed, or even a typo. While it’s difficult to say, at least some men and women probably did have the name. And likely for reasons unrelated to the dark blue color.

But for the most part, you might find a Blue in 1969, or a Pinkie way back in the 1910s. But Navy? Not so much.

What explains the transition from word to name?

In some cases, it’s clearly short for something longer. Actress Navi Rawat was born Navlata. But despite her 1977 birth, Rawat’s first big role was in The O.C. in 2003.

Most often, it probably reflects parents’ cautious embrace of new color names. Blue and Indigo both debuted in the US data during the 1970s. Sky and Skye, nature names with a colorful vibe, rose dramatically during the same period. Amber found new heights in the 1980s, as did Jade and Sage. 

Perhaps this was simply the moment parents first considered a broad range of color names, especially for baby girls.

NAVI

It looks like a spelling of the baby name Navy, but could Navi actually hold a clue to Navy’s success?

It’s also true that Navi means prophet in Hebrew; but it’s pronounced nah VEE. And it’s not clear if Navi is used as a given name.

During the 1960s, astronaut Gus Grissom nicknamed the star Gemma Cassiopeia – it’s the center of the “w” shape in the constellation Cassiopeia – Navi. He arrived at it by reversing his middle name, Ivan.

The popular Legend of Zelda video game series gave us a fairy named Navi, but that wasn’t until 1998’s Ocarina of Time. The character is mentioned in subsequent installments of the series, but it doesn’t seem like a powerful influence.

And then there’s the Na’vi, the fictional alien race we meet in 2009 blockbuster Avatar, now visited by millions of guests at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, where the fictional language and the blue-skinned creatures are alive and well. Again, though, it’s pronounced nah vee, not like the color.

Even if it wasn’t quite a first name, there was something about Navi/Navy that made others consider it in all sorts of curious and surprising ways.

NAVY in the SPOTLIGHT

Speaking of pop culture, it’s possible a few events made the baby name Navy so compelling – even without using it as a given name.

Blockbuster Top Gun starred Tom Cruise as a naval aviator in 1986. Gap spin-off Old Navy opened its first stores in 1994. In 1995, the long-running legal drama J.A.G. premiered, set in the offices of the US Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s office.

Harmon, the name of J.A.G.’s main character, spiked in use during the shows’ run. And we all know how well Top Gun’s Maverick has fared as a boy’s name.

It’s not as if we discovered the branch of the armed services anew. But perhaps it showed in a particularly appealing light at the exact same moment that a color like Scarlett or Saffron seemed like a plausible baby girl names. 

AVA PLUS IVY

Of course, the baby name Navy combines the sounds of current favorites. Top 100 picks like Olivia, Evelyn, Ivy, Avery, and of course, Ava, could get some credit. 

Middle V names are popular across gender lines, a balance of fresh finds and tradition, too. 

HOW POPULAR IS THE BABY NAME NAVY?

What’s certain is that the baby name Navy name slowly caught on.

In 2000, nine girls were given the name. By 2010, that number had reached 21. In 2017, an astonishing 170 girls (and 35 boys) were named Navy. 

Celebrities, including Jason Aldean and The Dream have given the name to their daughters. In the latter case, Navy might nod to mom’s name, Nivea.

Navi and Navie have trended, too. 

In 2019, the baby name Navy debuted in the US Top 1000 at #815. As of 2024, it reached #337 – a new popularity high, representing over 900 girls. 

97 boys received the name in 2024, also representing a new high.

It’s gained in use in other English-speaking countries, mostly notably the United Kingdom. 

CRISP and COLORFUL NAVY

The baby name Navy is a versatile choice. It’s popular for girls, but wearable for boys.

While a fleet of military ships might seem like unusual baby naming inspiration, Navy succeeds for other reasons.

It’s crisp and colorful. Navy brings to mind ships at sea. That makes it vaguely nature-adjacent, a category with plenty of modern appeal. Blue names are a compelling choice, as are English word names like River and Ever. 

All together, the simple sound, gender-neutral appeal, artistic connotations of the color navy, and ties to adventure and the natural world could Navy the perfect name. 

What do you think of the baby name Navy?

First published on March 13, 2019, this post was revised and updated on July 23, 2021 and again on July 30, 2025.