| Asha | Diya | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | hope, wish | Lamp, light |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | AH-shah | DEE-yuh |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1991 |
| Peak year | 2000 (250) | 2009 (309) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 119 |
| Trend | Vintage | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Asha | Diya |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 973 | 789 |
| 2010s | 1,947 | 2,313 |
| 2000s | 2,120 | 1,916 |
| 1990s | 2,162 | 61 |
| 1980s | 1,229 | 0 |
| 1970s | 566 | 0 |
| 1960s | 72 | 0 |
From Sanskrit 'asha' (आशा) meaning 'hope, wish, desire'. Flag: an identically spelled but etymologically DIFFERENT Avestan word 'asha' means 'truth/cosmic order' (Zoroastrianism), and the Swahili name Asha derives from Arabic for 'life' - these are separate roots that share a spelling.
From the Hindi दीया (diyā), 'an oil lamp', descended from the Sanskrit dīpa ('lamp, light'). A genuine, everyday Hindi word evoking the lamps of Diwali.
Diya is more popular than Asha today: about 119 US babies were given the name Diya in 2025, compared with 0 named Asha.
Asha means hope, wish (sanskrit origin), while Diya means Lamp, light (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Asha first appears in 0 and Diya in 1991, so Asha has the longer recorded history.