Aya

אַיָּה

• Gender: Female
• Origin: Jew-ish
• Meaning: bird

• Aya is a name that belongs to many cultures at once, and that is part of its magic. In Hebrew it refers to a bird, in Japanese it can mean "beautiful" or "design," and in Arabic it means "miracle." It is short, musical, and carries a different gift depending on which tradition you are drawing from.

  Actress Aya Cash, who starred as the sharp-tongued Gretchen on 'You're the Worst' and the terrifying Stormfront on 'The Boys,' was raised Jewish and even has a tattoo inspired by the Hebrew meaning of her name. Working seamlessly across cultures without losing specificity in any of them — that is the rare gift of this three-letter gem. It is effortlessly global and instantly memorable, the kind of name that needs no nickname and no explanation. Aya just lands.

• Alternate Spellings: Ayah
• Potential Sibling Name:
  Romi
  ,
  Mila
  ,
  Guy
• Theme: animals