Saya
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- SAH-ya
- Origin
- Japanese
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,675 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #2,859 for girls
Saya is a girls' name of Japanese origin. In 2025 it ranked 2,675th for girls in the UK (10 babies) and 2,859th for girls in the US (59 babies).
What does Saya mean?
Japanese: meaning depends on the kanji used
Also a Tagalog word for joy and merriment.
Is Saya a girl's or a boy's name?
Saya is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 10 girls in the UK and 59 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Saya in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,675among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 10about 1 in 28,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 25% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 10 girls in the UK were named Saya, making it the 2,675th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,009th. Its busiest year was 2012, with 19 girls.
2025 had more girls named Saya than any year since 2019.
Half of all the girls named Saya in the UK since 1996 were born between 2009 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 2,603rd in England and Wales.
Saya in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | #2,675 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 8 | #3,098 |
| 2022 | 6 | #3,728 |
| 2021 | 5 | #4,148 |
| 2020 | 8 | #3,009 |
| 2019 | 11 | #2,420 |
| 2018 | 5 | #4,204 |
| 2017 | 7 | #3,395 |
| 2016 | 14 | #2,111 |
| 2015 | 17 | #1,813 |
| 2014 | 13 | #2,189 |
| 2013 | 12 | #2,309 |
| 2012 | 19 | #1,681 |
| 2011 | 17 | #1,755 |
| 2010 | 14 | #2,004 |
| 2009 | 16 | #1,763 |
| 2008 | 11 | #2,286 |
| 2007 | 10 | #2,354 |
| 2006 | 10 | #2,263 |
| 2005 | 3 | #4,976 |
| 2004 | 3 | #4,789 |
| 2003 | 4 | #3,768 |
| 2002 | 3 | #4,284 |
| 2001 | 3 | #4,156 |
| 2000 | 4 | #3,399 |
| 1999 | 3 | #4,041 |
| 1998 | 1 | #5,152 |
How popular is Saya in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,859among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 59about 1 in 27,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 1% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 59 girls in the US were named Saya, making it the 2,859th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,755th. Its busiest year was 2010, with 98 girls. It first appears in the records in 1990.
2025 had more girls named Saya than any year since 2016.
Half of all the girls named Saya in the US since 1880 were born between 2008 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 71 girls in the US were given Saya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #2,126, up from #2,859 for this spelling alone.
- Saya 59
- Sayah 7
- Saaya 5
Saya in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 59 | #2,859 |
| 2024 | 47 | #3,335 |
| 2023 | 28 | #4,743 |
| 2022 | 36 | #4,039 |
| 2021 | 37 | #3,933 |
| 2020 | 27 | #4,755 |
| 2019 | 52 | #3,084 |
| 2018 | 54 | #3,003 |
| 2017 | 48 | #3,305 |
| 2016 | 63 | #2,739 |
| 2015 | 72 | #2,501 |
| 2014 | 69 | #2,558 |
| 2013 | 71 | #2,508 |
| 2012 | 70 | #2,568 |
| 2011 | 75 | #2,433 |
| 2010 | 98 | #2,028 |
| 2009 | 70 | #2,613 |
| 2008 | 61 | #2,886 |
| 2007 | 39 | #3,982 |
| 2006 | 29 | #4,810 |
| 2005 | 20 | #5,994 |
| 2004 | 21 | #5,740 |
| 2003 | 16 | #6,880 |
| 2002 | 23 | #5,082 |
| 2001 | 14 | #7,311 |
| 2000 | 17 | #6,202 |
| 1999 | 18 | #5,655 |
| 1998 | 9 | #9,254 |
| 1997 | 10 | #8,329 |
| 1996 | 11 | #7,569 |
| 1995 | 12 | #7,036 |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 6 | #11,773 |
| 1992 | 7 | #10,471 |
| 1991 | 5 | #13,139 |
| 1990 | 11 | #7,297 |
Names like Saya
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Zainab Hafsa Safaa Hiba Ayah Summer Aaliyah Raya Safiya Rahma Sumayyah
Other spellings of Saya
Names related to Saya
More Japanese names
Kobe Kaizen Raiden Ren Akari Kenzo Ronin Kyomi Akira Yuna Emi Kiyomi Kairi Miya Kenji Reo
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, “Saya: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/saya, updated 20 October 2026.