Novaya

Novaya is a toponym used in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. In the Russian language, Novaya is the feminine form of the adjective meaning “new,” and it functions as a geographic name in its own right. The name is typically applied to settlements to indicate that they were newly established or distinguished from an older nearby locality.

There is no single Novaya of national prominence; instead, numerous inhabited localities bear the name, most of them rural villages or small settlements. The exact number and locations of places named Novaya change over time due to administrative reorganizations, renamings, and boundary adjustments. In official records and maps, each Novaya is usually identified more precisely by its district (raion) and region (oblast, kraj, or republic) to prevent confusion with other localities sharing the same name.

Linguistically, Novaya reflects a common Slavic toponymic pattern in which a descriptive adjective is used as a place name. Related forms include Novy (masculine) and Novoye (neuter), which appear in other localities with different grammatical agreements.

Because multiple places share the same name, disambiguation typically requires additional geographic qualifiers such as district or region. The term Novaya also appears in historical or cultural contexts as part of longer place names, for example indicating a newly established settlement within a broader landscape. See also: Novy, Novoye, and other similarly formed toponyms.