| Shreya | Asha | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Auspicious, fortunate | hope, wish |
| Origin | Sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | SHRAY-ah | AH-shah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1980 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2003 (314) | 2000 (250) |
| In 2025 | 62 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Shreya | Asha |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 462 | 973 |
| 2010s | 1,583 | 1,947 |
| 2000s | 2,380 | 2,120 |
| 1990s | 555 | 2,162 |
| 1980s | 57 | 1,229 |
| 1970s | 0 | 566 |
| 1960s | 0 | 72 |
Shreya means “auspicious,” “best” or “fortunate” in Sanskrit.
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.
Shreya is more popular than Asha today: about 62 US babies were given the name Shreya in 2025, compared with 0 named Asha.
Shreya means Auspicious, fortunate (Sanskrit origin), while Asha means hope, wish (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Shreya first appears in 1980 and Asha in 0, so Asha has the longer recorded history.