Aya
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Meaning
honey buzzard, a bird of prey, from Hebrew אַיָּה
One Aya, three histories
Hebrew · honey buzzard, a bird of prey, from Hebrew אַיָּה.
Japanese · color or design, from kanji such as 彩 or 綾; other kanji are possible.
Arabic · sign or evidence, and also a verse of the Quran; written آية.
The story
Aya carries three separate histories in one small name, and the name's own page keeps all three. In Hebrew it is taken directly from aya, the word for the honey buzzard, a route carried in Behind the Name's community database. In Japanese it is written with kanji read aya, meaning 'colour' or 'design'. In Arabic it means 'sign, evidence', and also 'verse', as in one of the passages that make up the Quran. The American record treats the name as a steady climber: about 65 girls in the 1970s, about 587 in the 1990s, about 1,779 in the 2000s, about 2,956 in the 2010s, and about 2,417 so far this decade, rising in every completed decade since it entered the books. Three histories, two syllables, and one direction so far.
How popular is Aya around the world?
In the United States, 2,417 babies were named Aya between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 835 girls named Aya were born in 2025, the 49th most common name among girls that year.
Aya is on the official records of the United States, France, Spain, Norway, Canada, England and Wales, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, Austria, South Australia, Poland and Brazil.
Aya crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 9,000
In the United States, 2,417 babies were named Aya between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Aya peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
France
1 in 770
In France, about 835 girls named Aya were born in 2025, the 49th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
#82 · 2024
In Spain, 11,450 residents are named Aya, the 258th most common name among women, with a mean age of 13 years.
In Spain, Aya was the 82nd most common name among girls born in 2024.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Norway
1 in 1,300register 2026
In Norway, 21 girls were given the name Aya in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Canada
1 in 2,000
In Canada, 185 girls named Aya were born in 2024, the 147th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 2,800
In England and Wales, 212 girls named Aya were born in 2025, the 221st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 5,800
In New Zealand, 10 girls named Aya were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
1 in 6,500
In Scotland, 7 girls named Aya were registered in 2024, the 431st most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 7,700
In Ireland, 7 girls named Aya were born in 2025, the 483rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Austria
1 in 9,500
In Austria, 8 girls named Aya were born in 2025, the 566th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Aya in 2017.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Poland
1 in 25,000
In Poland, 10 girls named Aya were born in 2025, the 352nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Brazil
1 in 500,000
At the 2022 census, 462 people in Brazil were named Aya, ranked 14,132nd, with a median age of 6.
Among people named Aya living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 149 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Argentina
last on record 2023
Aya is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Not on the record in Mexico City and Puerto Rico: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years.
When you meet Aya
Most people given the name Aya 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.
Where Aya travels
Japanese Brazilian · colorful, design
Dual-language · color, design (彩/綾); short and phonetically clean enough to read correctly to English speakers on first try, one reason it travels well outside Japan
Keep exploring
Japanese Brazilian baby names · Dual-language baby names · Short names
The Aya deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Aya 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 Aya fits with your family’s names and surname.
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