It is a Bulgarian diminutive of Rayna, meaning happy or a Russian diminutive of Raisa. It might also be related to the Latin name Regina meaning queen.[1]
It is also said to be an Arabic name derived from ريا (raya), meaning perfume or from راية (rayah), meaning banner or flag.[2] It is also said to be a Hebrew name meaning friend.[3] It is also said to be a Hindi name meaning flow.[4] In Indonesia and Malaysia, the term refers to greatness. The phrase raya hari is used to refer to a big celebration. The word is also associated in that region with rajah, a term used for nobility in India and related cultures.[5]
Raya is also a Galician and Spanish surname that has been said to be derived from a place name or a term referring to a border.[6]
Other, similar, spellings in use in places such as Canada and the United States include Rayah, Rayya, Rya, and Ryah.[7][8] It is also a masculine given name in different cultures, including the Philippines.
Usage
Raya was among the ten most popular names given to newborn girls in Bulgaria in 2021.[9] It debuted among the 1,000 most popular names for newborn girls in the United States in 2020 and was among the 500 most popular names for American newborn girls in 2021. It ranked in 402nd position for girls on the American popularity chart in 2022. It was noted as a name that had greatly increased in usage there.[10][11] The name has ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls in England and Wales since 2006. In 2021, it ranked in 203rd position for English and Welsh newborn girls on the popularity chart, greater usage than in any prior year.[12] It was among the top 250 names for newborn girls in Canada in 2021, ranking 240th on the popularity chart that year.[13] The increased popularity of the name has been attributed to the release of the 2021 animated film Raya and the Last Dragon.[3]
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Aurora is a feminine given name, originating from the name of the ancient Roman goddess of dawn Aurora. Her tears were said to turn into the morning dew. Each morning she traveled in her chariot across the sky from east to west, proclaiming renewal with the rising of the sun. The Romans also associated the Northern Lights, or the Aurora borealis, with the goddess. Aurora is also traditionally the name of the princess in the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty and the many works of art it has inspired. The tale of a cursed princess who slept for one hundred years and was awakenened by the kiss of a prince might be considered a modern retelling of the ancient story of Aurora the dawn goddess, whose myths also include stories of a long sleep and an awakening at dawn.
Florence is usually a feminine given name. It is derived from the French version of (Saint) Florentia, a Roman martyr under Diocletian. The Latin florens, florentius means "blossoming", verb floreo, meaning "I blossom / I flower / I flourish". Florence was in the past also used as a translation of the Latin version Florentius, and may be used in this context as a masculine given name.
Talitha is an uncommon feminine name given in reference to the Biblical story in the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus Christ was said to have resurrected a dead child with the words "Talitha cumi" or "Talitha kum" or "Talitha koum," often translated as "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" Some sources say the Aramaic word could be translated as little lamb, while others say the word refers to a young girl.
Renesmee is a feminine given name created by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer for a character in Breaking Dawn, the 2008 fourth novel in the Twilight series, who also appeared in the films based on the novels. It is a portmanteau of the names Renee and Esme, which are French in origin. The name, along with others used in the series, came into occasional use as a given name due to the popularity of the books and movies. Alternate spellings of the name are also found.
Cassandra, also spelt Kassandra, is a feminine given name of Greek origin. Cassander is the masculine form of Cassandra. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. She had the gift of prophecy, but was cursed so that none would believe her prophecies. The name has been in occasional use since the Middle Ages. The usual English nickname is Cassie. Cassandre is the French version of the name.
Goldie is a nickname or given name used in reference to an informal English diminutive word for gold or an English version of the Yiddish name Golda or Golde, also meaning gold. It was often used as a pet name for a girl with blonde hair. It is also used as a nickname for formal names such as Marigold. It has a “vintage vibe” for some parents who have considered it. Other commentators note that the name has risen in use for girls along with other names of a similar style that all exude cuteness and promote enjoyment, perhaps in reaction to serious times. The English expression good as gold is often used to describe people who act virtuously and, in the case of children, are well-behaved.
Reina, which is also spelled Raina, Rayna, or Reyna in English, is a feminine given name with multiple, unrelated origins from a number of different languages and cultures. All of these unrelated names are pronounced and written similarly in English.
Ophelia is a feminine given name, probably derived from Ancient Greek ὠφέλεια.
Aviana or Avianna is a feminine given name with multiple origins. It is a Greenlandic name, a variant of the Greenlandic name Avek, meaning "family", combined with the Greenlandic ending -na that is indicative of a first name. It has been a popular name for girls in Greenland in recent years.
Marigold is an English name taken from the common name used for flowers from different genera such as Calendula or Tagetes, among others.
Magnolia is an English name taken from the flower name.
Octavia is a feminine given name of Latin origin meaning eight that derives from the Octavia gens.
Cataleya is a feminine given name, a variant spelling of Cattleya, a genus of orchid named in honor of English botanist William Cattley. The surname Cattley is said to be a transferred use of Catley, a one-time English place name in both Hertfordshire and Lincolnshire. The place name was ultimately derived from the Old English words catte, meaning cat and leah, meaning meadow or clearing, giving the meaning “from the meadow or clearing where wildcats dwell.” Another name for the Cattleya orchid is cat orchid. Others have made a connection between the name and cats because of the name’s starting syllable.
Clover is a modern given name derived from the common name for the plant, which was ultimately derived from the Old English word clāfre. The name has associations with Ireland and with good fortune due to traditional tales about the Irish shamrock or four-leaf clover. The name has recently increased in usage, a trend that has been attributed to a renewed interest in “cottagecore names” with a vintage sensibility that are rooted in the natural world. The name has ranked among the 1000 most used names for newborn girls in the United States since 2021. It also ranked among the 1,000 most popular names for newborn girls in Canada in 2021, the year it ranked in 854th position on the popularity chart with 32 uses. The name also ranked among the top 1,000 names for newborn girls in England and Wales in 2021, the year it ranked in 918th place on the popularity chart there.
Collins is a given name, a transferred use of an English surname ultimately derived from multiple sources. It could be derived from Coll or Colin, an English diminutive of the Greek name Nicholas, or from the Irish word cuilein, meaning darling, from the Welsh collen, referring to a grove of hazel trees, or of the French Colline, meaning hill.
Anakin is a masculine given name usually given in reference to the Star Wars character Darth Vader, a hero turned villain whose original name was Anakin Skywalker. In Legends continuity, the name is shared with Anakin Solo, the third child of Han Solo and Leia Organa, daughter of Anakin Skywalker.
Coraline is a feminine given name, usually considered a French diminutive of the name Coral, which is derived from the name for the precious coral used to make jewelry. It was first used by French composer Adolphe Adam for a character in his 1849 comic opera Le toréador. As a diminutive of Coral, the name is traditionally pronounced with an een ending. It might also be a diminutive of the name Cora. Coraline is also a name for a red, pink, or orange shade of the color coral. Author Neil Gaiman believed that he had invented the name as a rhyming variant of the name Caroline for the title character in his dark fantasy horror children's novella Coraline. Gaiman pronounced the name of the character with a long i to rhyme with the word wine. Gaiman also liked the name's resemblance to the word coral, which he explained is "both beautiful and hard and hidden." He also later found the name had been used for a tragic heroine in a Victorian-era song as well as for a type of material used to make corsets.
Lilith is a feminine given name sometimes given in reference to Lilith, a character in Jewish folklore who was said to be the first wife of the first man Adam who disobeyed him, was banished from the Garden of Eden, and who became a mythical she-demon. The mythological tale has inspired modern feminists.
Dahlia is a feminine given name derived from the name for the flower, which was named in honor of the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. His surname is of Germanic origin and refers to a person who lived in a valley. It is also a spelling variant of the name Dalia, which is also a Hebrew name meaning “hanging branch”.
Primrose is an English feminine given name given in reference to the flower. The common name for the flower comes from the Latin phrase prima rosa, or first rose. It is also an English or Scottish surname. As a given name, it was occasionally used as a transferred use of the surname for both boys and girls. It came into vogue in the Victorian era and first part of the 20th century, especially in the United Kingdom, along with other plant and flower names for girls. More attention has been given to the name in the Anglosphere due to a character in The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins and the movies based on the books.
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