Given name & surname · also African
Asha
“wish”·“desire”·“hope”
Asha’s Sanskrit tradition links the name with hope, desire and aspiration.
Meaning & origin
What it means
The Sanskrit meanings are “wish,” “desire” and “hope.” The separate “lively” interpretation belongs to another naming context.
Where it comes from
In its Sanskrit context, Asha comes from asa, a word for wishing or hoping. In a separate African naming context, Asha is interpreted as “one who is lively.”
How it developed
The Sanskrit word appears from the Atharva-Veda onward. Its ordinary sense of hope or desire also became a personified figure in later Hindu literature.
The story
In the Harivamsa, Asha is the wife of one of the Vasus, a group of eight demigods. Another philosophical story connects her with Manas, the personification of mind.
Asha through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 9,127
- 58 boys · 9,069 girls
- Most popular year
- 2000
- 250 babies
- 2025
- 160
- #1,373 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 160 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,373 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 11.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 250 in 2000. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (28). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 13,207 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Asha’s family of names
Asha has a related form in Aisha. Asha has a related form in Ashia. Asha has a related form in Ashah.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Asaequivalent
- Ashequivalent
- Aixaequivalent
- Ashleaequivalent
- Axaequivalent
- Aisyahequivalent
- আশাequivalent
- عائشةequivalent
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People named Asha
- Asha BhosleIndian playback singer (1933–2026)
- Asha ParekhIndian actressborn 1942
- Asha-Rose MigiroTanzanian politician and UN Deputy-Secretary Generalborn 1956
- Asha NegiIndian television actressborn 1989
- Asha de Vosmarine biologistborn 1979
- Asha PhilipBritish sprinterborn 1990
- Asha Haji ElmiMember of Federal Parliament; peace activistborn 1962
- Asha BhatIndian modelborn 1992
- Flora SainiIndian actressborn 1978
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Asha, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Akanksha
Akanksha is a feminine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% girls
Aanya
“inexhaustible”
>99% girls
Imani
“having great faith” · “God is with us”
6% boys · 94% girls
Anuja
“younger sister”
>99% girls
Ananya
Ananya is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% girls
Vasudha
“earth”
>99% girls
Karissa
“filled with grace and kindess; very dear”
>99% girls
Antara
Antara is a feminine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% girls