| Anika | Aadhya | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | brilliance, splendour; epithet of Durga | first, primordial |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | uh-NEE-kah | AAD-hyah |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1961 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2006 (642) | 2017 (291) |
| In 2025 | 269 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Anika | Aadhya |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,895 | 1,502 |
| 2010s | 5,038 | 1,937 |
| 2000s | 5,591 | 37 |
| 1990s | 2,083 | 0 |
| 1980s | 949 | 0 |
| 1970s | 1,222 | 0 |
| 1960s | 26 | 0 |
From Sanskrit anika (अनीक), 'splendour, brilliance; also a battle array or army'; used as an epithet of Goddess Durga. Cross-cultural: Anika is independently a Germanic/Scandinavian diminutive of Anna.
From Sanskrit adya (आद्या), feminine 'first, primordial, the beginning'; used as an epithet of the primordial Goddess (Adi Shakti / Durga).
Anika is more popular than Aadhya today: about 269 US babies were given the name Anika in 2025, compared with 0 named Aadhya.
Anika means brilliance, splendour; epithet of Durga (sanskrit origin), while Aadhya means first, primordial (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Anika first appears in 1961 and Aadhya in 0, so Aadhya has the longer recorded history.