Girl's name
Aya
Say it AH-yuh
Japanese origin 2 syllables
Where Aya is loved, common and rare
Common across France, Spain, Quebec and two more places. Rare in Israel, Ontario, Switzerland and 12 more places.
1 in 1,195 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
France 49thCatalonia 51stQuebec 82nd
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 21 of the 40 official lists, among them France (49th), Catalonia (51st) and Quebec (82nd).
Show all 21 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 49th 2025 | 835 | 1 in 343 |
| Catalonia region | 51st 2025 | 86 | 1 in 224 |
| Spain | 82nd 2024 | 326 | rank only |
| Quebec province | 82nd 2025 | 69 | about 1 in 377 |
| The Netherlands | 89th 2025 | 154 | about 1 in 396 |
| Israel איה | 111th 2024 | 182 | about 1 in 431 |
| Ontario province | 142nd 2024 | 78 | about 1 in 698 |
| Switzerland | 154th 2025 | 46 | 1 in 739 |
| Sweden | 169th 2025 | 53 | about 1 in 758 |
| Berlin city | 180th 2023 | 17 | about 1 in 853 |
| Norway | 206th 2025 | 21 | 1 in 1,038 |
| Italy | 208th 2024 | 95 | 1 in 1,886 |
| England and Wales | 221st 2025 | 212 | 1 in 1,195 |
| Cologne city | 308th 2023 | 3 | about 1 in 2,048 |
| British Columbia province | 348th 2023 | 9 | about 1 in 1,329 |
| Poland | 352nd 2025 | 10 | 1 in 11,979 |
| Scotland | 359th 2025 | 9 | 1 in 1,988 |
| Ireland | 483rd 2025 | 7 | 1 in 3,018 |
| Austria | 566th 2025 | 8 | 1 in 4,465 |
| Denmark | 24th 2025 | 222 | rank only |
| Bonn city | 382nd 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 3,015 |
Rare, below the listed names: Northern Ireland, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Munich, Leipzig, Rostock, Hungary and Slovenia.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Israel publishes names in Hebrew script. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (Spain); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) (Israel); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Statistics Denmark (DST) (Denmark); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
Aya came into English as a borrowing from Japanese, where it is a given name, though no meaning is attested for it. Separately, Turkish has its own name Aya, taken from the Greek Agia, so two quite different traditions arrive at the same short word.
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Said AH-yuh, it has two open syllables and a gentle, rounded sound. Aia, Ayya and Eya are other spellings, and Raya is a close neighbour.
Aya is especially popular in Denmark, France and Catalonia, and in Quebec it is a top-100 name. It is also used in Ontario and in England and Wales. In France it was at its height around 2018, and across the countries where it appears it is rising in far more places than it is falling, which makes it one of the more international choices of its kind.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- AH-yuh, 2 syllables
- Origin
- Japanese
- Other spellings
- Raya
- Aja
- Eya
- Aia
- Ayya
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese Aya. A separate Turkish name Aya is from Greek Agia.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 11 of 20 regions, falling in 1.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 362 | 358 | 317 | 336 | 330 | 250 | 263 | 223 | 232 | 221 |
| Scotland | 585 | 666 | 415 | 376 | 399 | 396 | 531 | 630 | 431 | 359 |
| Ireland | 750 | 524 | 512 | 362 | 444 | 586 | 502 | 404 | 320 | 483 |
| Ontario | 414 | 257 | 216 | 285 | 210 | 355 | 229 | 207 | 142 | |
| British Columbia | 455 | 518 | 458 | 561 | 299 | 316 | 348 | |||
| Quebec | 94 | 81 | 81 | 113 | 98 | 100 | 93 | 112 | 87 | 82 |
| France | 52 | 47 | 46 | 49 | 57 | 59 | 52 | 51 | 52 | 49 |
| The Netherlands | 126 | 122 | 138 | 118 | 121 | 100 | 103 | 92 | 89 | |
| Austria | 873 | 506 | 754 | 665 | 736 | 670 | 541 | 487 | 429 | 566 |
| Switzerland | 373 | 407 | 227 | 321 | 295 | 302 | 184 | 168 | 147 | 154 |
| Berlin | 498 | 419 | 223 | 323 | 436 | 325 | 332 | 180 | ||
| Munich | 226 | |||||||||
| Bonn | 220 | 365 | 226 | 239 | 168 | 382 | ||||
| Leipzig | 192 | 411 | 263 | 378 | 134 | 262 | 389 | 163 | 357 | |
| Rostock | 143 | |||||||||
| Norway | 267 | 176 | 173 | 222 | 262 | 221 | 182 | 211 | 153 | 206 |
| Sweden | 218 | 161 | 215 | 216 | 213 | 171 | 191 | 184 | 151 | 169 |
| Denmark | 27 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 32 | 21 | 21 | 24 |
| Spain | 89 | 88 | 94 | 97 | 99 | 82 | ||||
| Catalonia | 70 | 59 | 65 | 86 | 67 | 64 | 67 | 53 | 46 | 51 |
| Italy | 158 | 161 | 184 | 181 | 214 | 230 | 227 | 208 | ||
| Poland | 463 | 356 | 332 | 419 | 377 | 320 | 440 | 428 | 523 | 352 |
| Israel | 78 | 75 | 88 | 94 | 95 | 101 | 92 | 105 | 111 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 221 | 212 | 83.7 |
| 2024 | 232 | 206 | 79.8 |
| 2023 | 223 | 209 | 81.5 |
| 2022 | 263 | 173 | 65.7 |
| 2021 | 250 | 192 | 70.1 |
| 2020 | 330 | 139 | 51.8 |
| 2019 | 336 | 135 | 48.2 |
| 2018 | 317 | 150 | 52.0 |
| 2017 | 358 | 131 | 43.8 |
| 2016 | 362 | 131 | 42.7 |
| 2015 | 405 | 112 | 36.4 |
| 2014 | 432 | 101 | 32.9 |
| 2013 | 432 | 98 | 31.8 |
| 2012 | 454 | 99 | 30.7 |
| 2011 | 486 | 88 | 27.4 |
| 2010 | 512 | 79 | 24.6 |
| 2009 | 474 | 86 | 27.4 |
| 2008 | 595 | 63 | 20.0 |
| 2007 | 549 | 67 | 21.9 |
| 2006 | 601 | 56 | 18.7 |
| 2005 | 562 | 59 | 20.5 |
| 2004 | 687 | 42 | 14.7 |
| 2003 | 742 | 37 | 13.3 |
| 2002 | 689 | 38 | 14.2 |
| 2001 | 779 | 31 | 11.6 |
| 2000 | 969 | 22 | 8.1 |
| 1999 | 1393 | 13 | 4.6 |
| 1998 | 1165 | 17 | 5.9 |
| 1997 | 1543 | 11 | 3.8 |
| 1996 | 1168 | 16 | 5.4 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Aya in France since 1925 were born in or after 2015. First recorded in 1975. Her peak year there: 2018, at 356.9 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Aya per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 2018 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Aya
1 in 607 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Aya.
1 in 307 in England and Wales
1 in 778 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Aya.
1 in 4,690 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Aya.
1 in 1,625 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Aya.
1 in 1,583 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Aya. Same first letter as Aya.
1 in 1,627 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Aya.
1 in 587 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Aya. Same first letter as Aya.
1 in 993 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Aya.
1 in 3,166 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Aya. Same first letter as Aya.
Middle names for Aya
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Aya Grace
2-1 beats · initials AG
Changes the beat after Aya: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Aya Olivia
2-4 beats · initials AO · Aya slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Aya: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Aya slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Aya Sophia
2-3 beats · initials AS
Changes the beat after Aya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Aya Maria
2-3 beats · initials AM
Changes the beat after Aya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Aya Rose
2-1 beats · initials AR
Changes the beat after Aya: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Aya Emily
2-3 beats · initials AE · Aya slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Aya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Aya slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Aya Julia
2-3 beats · initials AJ
Changes the beat after Aya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Aya Miriam
2-3 beats · initials AM
Changes the beat after Aya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Aya
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 1,771 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Aya across countries and decades.
1 in 3,521 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Aya across countries and decades.
1 in 5,282 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Aya across countries and decades.
1 in 587 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Aya across countries and decades.
1 in 617 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Aya across countries and decades.
1 in 1,627 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Aya across countries and decades.
1 in 1,457 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Aya across countries and decades.
1 in 4,444 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Aya across countries and decades.
Famous people named Aya
Aya Miyama, Aya Nakamura, Aya Sameshima, Aya Shimokozuru, Aya Ueto, Aya Matsuura, Aya Hisakawa and Aya Hirano.
Show all 8Show less
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Japanese association football player born 1985
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Malian-French singer (born 1995)
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Japanese association football player born 1987
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Japanese association football player born 1982
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Japanese actress, singer, model, tarento, and occasional radio personality born 1985
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Japanese female singer, talent, television presenter and former idol (1986-)
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Japanese voice actress and singer born 1968
-
Japanese voice actress and singer born 1987
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Aya
4 questions, on how popular she is, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Aya?
Her best rank is No. 24 in Denmark in 2025. She is in the published lists of 21 of our 40 regions.
How do you pronounce Aya?
AH-yuh, with 2 syllables.
Is Aya getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 11 of 20 regions, falling in 1.
Which sister names go with Aya?
The deck's top five sisters for Aya: Norah, Maryam, Talia, Jana and Leia. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.