Asa
Meaning
"physician, healer"
The story
Asa is a palindrome of a name and an antique of one, the name of the third king of Judah, a reformer who cleared the idols out, and the Hebrew is traditionally read as healer, physician, though the scholars keep a cautious possibly in front of it. The Puritans carried it to America, where it seasoned for centuries: Asa Gray botanized for Darwin's cause, Asa Candler bottled Coca-Cola into an empire, and the record shows the old floor, about 410 in the 1890s and 1,020 in the 1920s, then the long mid-century nap, down to 450 in the 1950s. The revival is the familiar one, vowels and scripture: 3,700 in the 2000s, cresting at 5,800 in the 2010s, 4,220 already this decade, in step with Ezra and Asher, each over 111,000 strong. In Japan, separately, asa is the word for morning. Old king, short name, second century of service.
In written records since at least 1750: the Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision of 1750, 3 Kings 15.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Asa peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
25 people · the #106,978 first name in Brazil · median age 15
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Asa
Most people given the name Asa in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Asa deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Asa truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Asa fits with your family’s names and surname.
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