Given name & surname
Arya
“one who is noble and honored”
Arya is used as a given name and a surname. One Indian interpretation is “one who is noble and honored.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Indian interpretation is “one who is noble and honored.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Indian.
How it developed
From Sanskrit आर्य (ā́rya, “noble, respectable”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1982. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Arya through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 31,871
- 2,335 boys · 29,536 girls
- Most popular year
- 2019
- 3,100 babies
- 2025
- 1,912
- #158 for girls · #2,483 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −13%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 2% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,858 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 158 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 13.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 3,051 in 2019. It also appeared in 54 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (275). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 17,881 as a first name in 2020; 1,479 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Arya’s family of names
In English usage, Arya shares an earlier linguistic root with ARYAN. In Turkish usage, Arya has a conventional equivalent in the English form Aria. Arya has a related form in Aryanna.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Arya has relatives in 6 languages.
8 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Arya
Characters named Arya: Arya Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Arya, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Aadhya
Aadhya is a feminine given name from Indian.
>99% girls
Adya
“born on a Sunday”
>99% girls
Navya
“one who is youthful”
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Isha
“the protector” · “a lively woman”
>99% girls
Avani
“from the earth”
2% boys · 98% girls
Abha
“one who shines; a lustrous beauty”
>99% girls
Laasya
“a graceful dancer”
>99% girls
Aabha
“one who shines”
>99% girls