Asha
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- AH-sha
- Origin
- Sanskrit
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,868 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #1,373 for girls
Asha is a girls' name of Sanskrit origin, meaning “hope, wish”. In 2025 it ranked 1,868th for girls in the UK (16 babies) and 1,373rd for girls in the US (160 babies).
What does Asha mean?
Sanskrit
“hope, wish”
In East Africa Asha is also used as a Swahili form of Aisha, 'alive'.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Asha a girl's or a boy's name?
Asha is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 16 girls in the UK and 160 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Asha in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,868th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 16 about 1 in 17,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 21% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 16 girls in the UK were named Asha, making it the 1,868th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,064th. Its busiest year was 2003, with 126 girls.
2025 had the fewest girls named Asha since the records began in 1996.
Half of all the girls named Asha in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2012. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,809th in England and Wales.
Asha in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | #1,868 |
| 2024 | 31 | #1,143 |
| 2023 | 27 | #1,285 |
| 2022 | 24 | #1,406 |
| 2021 | 27 | #1,295 |
| 2020 | 34 | #1,064 |
| 2019 | 25 | #1,368 |
| 2018 | 35 | #1,073 |
| 2017 | 35 | #1,079 |
| 2016 | 38 | #1,014 |
| 2015 | 44 | #900 |
| 2014 | 45 | #906 |
| 2013 | 52 | #794 |
| 2012 | 50 | #831 |
| 2011 | 49 | #810 |
| 2010 | 67 | #640 |
| 2009 | 60 | #674 |
| 2008 | 70 | #594 |
| 2007 | 87 | #493 |
| 2006 | 86 | #491 |
| 2005 | 92 | #449 |
| 2004 | 101 | #403 |
| 2003 | 126 | #330 |
| 2002 | 90 | #409 |
| 2001 | 83 | #425 |
| 2000 | 81 | #430 |
| 1999 | 102 | #356 |
| 1998 | 88 | #401 |
| 1997 | 67 | #486 |
| 1996 | 66 | #482 |
How popular is Asha in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,373rd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 160 about 1 in 10,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 2% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 160 girls in the US were named Asha, making it the 1,373rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,459th. Its busiest year was 2000, with 250 girls. It first appears in the records in 1963.
Half of all the girls named Asha in the US since 1880 were born between 1992 and 2013, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 179 girls in the US were given Asha or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,135, up from #1,373 for this spelling alone.
- Asha 160
- Aasha 19
Asha in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 160 | #1,373 |
| 2024 | 201 | #1,188 |
| 2023 | 169 | #1,339 |
| 2022 | 135 | #1,573 |
| 2021 | 161 | #1,370 |
| 2020 | 147 | #1,459 |
| 2019 | 192 | #1,218 |
| 2018 | 200 | #1,192 |
| 2017 | 210 | #1,172 |
| 2016 | 187 | #1,286 |
| 2015 | 181 | #1,311 |
| 2014 | 202 | #1,205 |
| 2013 | 191 | #1,248 |
| 2012 | 212 | #1,158 |
| 2011 | 201 | #1,196 |
| 2010 | 171 | #1,363 |
| 2009 | 187 | #1,292 |
| 2008 | 204 | #1,236 |
| 2007 | 215 | #1,180 |
| 2006 | 197 | #1,222 |
| 2005 | 196 | #1,173 |
| 2004 | 218 | #1,062 |
| 2003 | 237 | #977 |
| 2002 | 206 | #1,043 |
| 2001 | 210 | #1,024 |
| 2000 | 250 | #881 |
| 1999 | 224 | #934 |
| 1998 | 249 | #855 |
| 1997 | 205 | #963 |
| 1996 | 220 | #893 |
| 1995 | 216 | #878 |
| 1994 | 227 | #862 |
| 1993 | 203 | #929 |
| 1992 | 237 | #837 |
| 1991 | 197 | #958 |
| 1990 | 184 | #992 |
| 1989 | 239 | #793 |
| 1988 | 151 | #1,052 |
| 1987 | 134 | #1,115 |
| 1986 | 112 | #1,224 |
| 1985 | 98 | #1,338 |
| 1984 | 90 | #1,343 |
| 1983 | 109 | #1,190 |
| 1982 | 100 | #1,277 |
| 1981 | 95 | #1,319 |
| 1980 | 101 | #1,273 |
| 1979 | 91 | #1,349 |
| 1978 | 77 | #1,473 |
| 1977 | 81 | #1,380 |
| 1976 | 54 | #1,747 |
| 1975 | 59 | #1,640 |
| 1974 | 52 | #1,733 |
| 1973 | 47 | #1,805 |
| 1972 | 46 | #1,832 |
| 1971 | 40 | #2,064 |
| 1970 | 19 | #3,311 |
| 1969 | 20 | #3,011 |
| 1968 | 15 | #3,455 |
| 1967 | 17 | #3,084 |
| 1966 | 9 | #4,492 |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 6 | #6,008 |
| 1963 | 5 | #6,591 |
Names like Asha
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Isha, Priya, Krisha, Anya, Akshara, Viha, Anisha, Prisha, Amrit, Aisha, Aadhya, Aarya
Other spellings of Asha
Names related to Asha
Ayesha, Aysha, Aishah, Asia, Asya, Ayisha, A'Isha, Asa, Ashe
More Sanskrit names
Maya, Bodhi, Arya, Lila, Arjun, Aarav, Rohan, Kali, Aryan, Opal, Arjan, Vihaan, Avyaan, Ishaan, Siya, Leena
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Asha: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/asha, updated 20 October 2026.