Aya

Aya: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “colorful design; verse, sign”
Origin: Japanese
Say it: AH-yah · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

Aya has multiple independent origins. In Japanese it often relates to color, pattern, or design depending on kanji; in Arabic āyah means verse or sign.

Japanese names Arabic names Names meaning beauty Names meaning faith Short names International names

How popular is Aya?

2024140 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Aya in 2024467

2024 rank#631 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 18807,534

Aya is rising: use over the last five years is 1.8× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Aya

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Hanaflower · Japanese
Kairisea village · Japanese
Noridoctrine, ceremony, law · Japanese
Emibeautiful blessing · Japanese
Kyomiuncertain; depends on kanji · Japanese
Kiyomipure beauty · Japanese
Yunavaried by kanji; common readings include gentle or moon · Japanese
Mikabeautiful fragrance · Japanese

Aya questions

What does the name Aya mean?

Aya means "colorful design; verse, sign". It comes from Japanese. Aya has multiple independent origins. In Japanese it often relates to color, pattern, or design depending on kanji; in Arabic āyah means verse or sign.

Is Aya a boy or girl name?

Aya is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Aya?

467 US babies were named Aya in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Aya?

Aya is usually pronounced AH-yah.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.