A musical name with ancient ties
for a thoroughly modern age.
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Origin: |
Aria is essentially an adoption of the Italian word aria which literally means "air" but has long been used to mean "song" or "melody" thanks to its being applied to vocal solos performed in operas. Aria, however, earlier appears in Greek mythology as a woman of Crete who bore a son named Miletos by Apollo. Most likely her name was a variant of the Greek Αρεια (Areia) "warlike" or "of Ares," an epithet of both Athena and Aphrodite. Aria and Areia was also applied in classical times to the eastern part of ancient Persia and its peoples. In this case, it was a Hellenised form of the original name used by the Persians themselves, derived from the Old Persian term ariya- "noble, excellent, honourable." It is from this source that Iran gets its name. In roundabout twist, the Persian ariya is ultimately deried from the Sanskrit arya "honourable, noble, of good family." Arya itself has longstanding used as both a masculine and feminine Sanskrit name, with Aria used as a spelling variant. |
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Usage: |
An obscure saint named Saint Aria who was a Roman martyr. Very little is known of her. It could be that her name came from the same source as the Greek Aria (perhaps her origins were Persian), or that it is a form of either the Greek name Ariadne or Latin Arria, a name borne by a heroine of Roman legend. As a given name, Aria didn't really become established in Britain until the 19th century. There is, however, a curious crop of baptisms for girls name Aria in the parish of St Alphage in Greenwich, Kent in the 1630s: Aria Webbe in 1632, Aria Whit in 1638, and Aria Hartland in 1641. Quite what prompted the use of this name within this parish isn't clear, but it is perhaps an adoption of the surname Aire/Airey/Ary (most likely in honour of a godparent) which was used in the local area. Perhaps all three girls had the same godparent; though it isn't uncommon to find one family's adoption of a fanciful family name become a fleeting fashion within the local community. Aria was used for a handful of girls in the 19th century Victorians. More common was Ariana and Ariadne, and later, Arianwen. The name was very little used in Britain until the 1970s when Arya and Aria picked up in use for both girls and boys thanks to Britain becoming more multicultural with a growing Indian and Pakistani community. The name was still uncommon, averaging around 5 births per year (for both boys and girls together). The reason for the recent explosion in popularity for girls can be largely attached to popular media, and the names similarity to other popular short, heavy-vowel sound names like Isla, Ava and Amelia. Firstly, there was the hit Nikelodian TV series iCarly (2008-9) featuring young actress Aria Wallace followed by the character Aria Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars (2010-11). click to enlarge
As both a masculine and feminine Sanskrit name, Arya (and Aria) had low-moderate use as a given name at the beginning of this century in England and Wales. All forms were used consistently each year ranging from 3 to 30 births per year. The change in fortunes came in 2010 when Aria and Arya began moving up further than their masculine counterparts. From 2011, post Game of Thrones, Both Aria and Arya have been on a steep upward curve for girls, while Arya and Aria for boys has remained largely consistent. A breakdown of the birth count in England and Wales for the variant spellings can be seen below:
When all the spellings are added together, Aria ranked #121 in England and Wales in 2013. Aria has been even more successful in Scotland, where it reached the top 100 in 2013. The name was #571 (5 births) in 2005 and remained much the same over the receeding years -- #486 (6 births) in 2010, #435 (7 births) in 2011 -- by 2012 however, it has shot up to #167 (28 births) and hit the top 100 at #91 (55 births) in 2013. The provisional Scottish data for 2014 puts it at #62. Almost the same success can be seen in other English-speaking countries around the world. In the US, Aria currently ranks #40, having risen from #511 in 2009. It is aslso #57 in Australia and #24 in New Zealand. |
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Famous Bearers: |
History: * St Aria, a Roman martyr. Contemporary: * Arya Babbar (b. 1982), an Indian actor. Literature and Other Media: * Arya Stark, a character George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones. |
| Variants: | Arya, Ariah, Ariya |
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Pronunciation: |
AR-ee-ə [key] |
| Possible Diminutives: |
Ari, Ria |
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Sibling Names: |
Esme Ivy Eliana Lena Mila Seren |
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Name Lists: |
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If you like Aria you may also like: |
Thanks to Michelle for requesting this post.
