| Diya | Saanvi | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Lamp, light | epithet of goddess Lakshmi |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | DEE-yuh | SAAN-vee |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1991 | 2002 |
| Peak year | 2009 (309) | 2011 (312) |
| In 2025 | 119 | 274 |
| Trend | Declining | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Diya | Saanvi |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 789 | 1,573 |
| 2010s | 2,313 | 2,492 |
| 2000s | 1,916 | 880 |
| 1990s | 61 | 0 |
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.
A modern Indian name widely taken as an epithet of the goddess Lakshmi (prosperity, radiance). Its morphology is debated, often parsed Sa- 'with' + anvi 'follower/knowledge', and no classical Sanskrit etymology is firmly established; treat the breakdown as unsettled.
Saanvi is more popular than Diya today: about 274 US babies were given the name Saanvi in 2025, compared with 119 named Diya.
Diya means Lamp, light (sanskrit origin), while Saanvi means epithet of goddess Lakshmi (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Diya first appears in 1991 and Saanvi in 2002, so Diya has the longer recorded history.