girls' name ★ peaked 2024

Aya

Meaning A female given name from Japanese Gender Girl Rank 2025 #644 Trend ↑ Rising 26%

A female given name from Japanese.

Rank 2025
#644
among girls · ↓14 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
449
named Aya · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,580
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2024
469 babies
All-time total
7,987
#1,917 all-time among girls
First recorded
1972
in Social Security records

Aya popularity over time

7,987 babies have been named Aya since 1972, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.10.20.30.418801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2024Girls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s – – – –
1920s – – – –
1930s – – – –
1940s – – – –
1950s – – – –
1960s – – – –
1970s 65 7 – #4,446
1980s 183 18 +182% #3,344
1990s 587 59 +221% #1,734
2000s 1,779 178 +203% #1,162
2010s 2,956 296 +66% #738
2020s (to 2025) 2,417 403 +36% #630

Where Aya is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 466 0.29 outside top 500
2027 481 0.30 outside top 500
2028 494 0.31 outside top 500
2029 505 0.31 outside top 500
2030 515 0.32 outside top 500

Where Aya is most popular

Girls named Aya per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.255 per 1,000. Strongest in Hawaii, District of Columbia, and Michigan.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Aya born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Hawaii 12 1.05 +310%
District of Columbia 10 0.844 +230%
Michigan 151 0.829 +225%
Virginia 106 0.622 +144%
Massachusetts 67 0.554 +117%
Illinois 107 0.467 +83%
Washington 67 0.464 +82%
Maryland 48 0.453 +77%
New York 177 0.447 +75%
Pennsylvania 91 0.385 +51%
Ohio 76 0.320 +25%
California 257 0.306 +20%
New Jersey 55 0.305 +19%
Minnesota 32 0.297 +16%
Connecticut 16 0.275 +8%
Oregon 17 0.261 ≈ national
Florida 109 0.255 ≈ national
Georgia 57 0.251 ≈ national
North Carolina 57 0.250 ≈ national
New Mexico 6 0.247 ≈ national
Missouri 29 0.241 -6%
Texas 182 0.226 -11%
Louisiana 19 0.217 -15%
Colorado 20 0.179 -30%
Wisconsin 17 0.165 -35%
Nebraska 5 0.139 -46%
Utah 11 0.132 -48%
Kentucky 10 0.117 -54%
Tennessee 18 0.114 -56%
Indiana 15 0.107 -58%
Kansas 5 0.087 -66%
Arizona 11 0.078 -69%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Delaware – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Aya

Aya is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #644 in 2025 with 449 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1972, 7,987 American babies have been named Aya. Its peak came in 2024, when 469 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Aya stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Aya?

The median living Aya is about 10 years old; half are between 4 and 18. An estimated 7,900 people named Aya are alive in the United States today.

median 10 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Aya year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 449 #644
2024 469 #630
2023 415 #695
2022 388 #746
2021 351 #803
2020 345 #789
2019 384 #738
2018 368 #749
2017 350 #785
2016 327 #861
2015 309 #893
2014 272 #982
2013 236 #1,048
2012 253 #1,001
2011 222 #1,111
2010 235 #1,056
2009 214 #1,175
2008 209 #1,216
2007 206 #1,215
2006 176 #1,328
2005 179 #1,259
2004 176 #1,240
2003 161 #1,291
2002 177 #1,162
2001 171 #1,193
2000 110 #1,602
1995 58 #2,282
1990 36 #3,079
1985 17 #4,472
1980 13 #5,261
1975 – –
1970 – –
1965 – –
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 – –
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Aya

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Aya Nakamura Aya Nakamura French and Malian singer (born 1995) Contemporary
  2. 2 Aya Hirano Aya Hirano Japanese voice actress and singer (born 1987) Contemporary
  3. 3 Aya Hisakawa Japanese voice actress (born 1968) Contemporary
  4. 4 Aya Ueto Aya Ueto Japanese singer and actress (born 1985) Contemporary
  5. 5 Aya Matsuura Aya Matsuura Japanese actress and pop singer (born 1986) Contemporary
  6. 6 Aya Miyama Aya Miyama Japanese footballer (born 1985) Contemporary
  7. 7 Aya Sameshima Aya Sameshima Japanese footballer (born 1987) Contemporary
  8. 8 Aya Terakawa Aya Terakawa Japanese swimmer (born 1984) Contemporary
  9. 9 Aya Shimokozuru Japanese footballer b. 1982 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Aya, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Aya?

The median living Aya is about 10 years old. Half of all living Ayas are between 4 and 18 years old.

How many people named Aya are alive today?

An estimated 7,900 people named Aya are alive in the United States, based on 7,987 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Aya mean?

A female given name from Japanese.

How popular is the name Aya in 2025?

Aya ranked #644 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 449 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Aya?

7,987 babies have been named Aya in the United States since 1972, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Aya most popular?

Aya peaked in 2024, when 469 newborns received the name.

Is Aya a boy or girl name?

Aya is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Aya rising or falling?

Aya is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Aya become more popular?

Aya is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 515 girls named Aya in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Aya?

Well-known people named Aya include Aya Nakamura (singer), Aya Hirano (actor), Aya Hisakawa (actor).

Names like Aya

Names that sound and feel close to Aya: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Aya with similar names → More names starting with A →