Aya (given name)

Aya

Pronunciation	/ˈɑːjə/
Gender	Female
Language(s)	Turkish, Japanese, Arabic, English
Origin
Meaning	Old German: "sword" Turkish: "angel" Chemehuevi: "tortoise" Hebrew: "to fly swiftly" Arabic: "sign," "miracle," or "verse"
Other names
See also	Ayako Ayaka Ayame Ayana Ayano

Aya is a feminine given name with multiple meanings in different languages. In Old German, Aya means "bees". Aya (あや, アヤ) is a common female Japanese given name meaning "design", "colorful" or "beautiful". Aya is also in use in the Hebrew language and means "to fly swiftly" or "bird". Aya is also an Arabic feminine name written as آية meaning "wonderful", "amazing", "miracle" or "verse" (of a religious scripture such as the Quran or Bible). In Mongolian, similar to Turkish, it means "goodness", "music", and "melody". In Chemehuevi, Aya means "tortoise". In Baoule on the Ivory Coast, Aya is given to the female born on Friday. To the Yoruba people, mostly in Nigeria.

In the Raute language of Nepal, Aya refers to one's sister-in-law, meaning the wife of one's elder or younger brother. The word's origin comes from Proto-Tibeto-Burman ’ay (alternate form yay) meaning "mother". In the Urdu language the word Aya refers to bees, caretaker, or nurse for young children. Typically in Pakistan ayas work in early childhood centres or primary schools.

In Turkish-Altaic mythology, Aya symbolizes the good soul. All the seventeen types of benevolent angels who live in the sky are also called Ayas. They are seen as the source of abundance, creativity and in the earth. The origin of the word comes from Ay ("moon" in Turkish). Ayaçı means "creative soul". In the mythology of Yakut Turks, Siberia Aya transforms into Abası, symbolizing the same angels. Yürüng Aya Toron (the white creative soul, sun) was believed to be the creator of the Aya's and the universe. The best foods are given to Aya during Isıah (birthday of the nature) Festivals.

There are several alternative spellings including Ayah and Aiya. There is also an African Adinkra symbol called an Aya, which is a fern. It is a symbol of endurance and resourcefulness.

Possible writings in Japanese

Aya can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:

• 絢, "kimono design"
• 彩, "coloring"
• 理, "truth, logic"
• 亜矢, "Asia, arrow"
• 亜弥, "Asia, all the more"
• 亜夜, "Asia, night"
• 順, "order, sequence, turn"
• 文, "writings"

The name can also be written in hiragana or katakana.

People

• Aya (queen), Ancient Egyptian queen during the 18th century BCE
• Aya Cash (born 1982), American actress
• Aya Domenig (born 1972), Japanese-Swiss filmmaker
• Aya Jamal Eddine (born 1997), Lebanese footballer
• Aya Endō (綾, born 1980), Japanese voice actress
• Aya Fujita (綾, born 1987), Japanese shogi player
• Aya Goda (彩, born 1967), Japanese painter
• Aya Hirano (綾, born 1987), Japanese voice actress
• Aya Hirayama (あや, born 1984), Japanese actress
• Aya Hisakawa (綾, born 1968), Japanese voice actress
• Aya Ishiguro (彩, born 1978), Japanese singer
• Aya Ishizu (彩, born 1972), Japanese voice actress
• Aya Itō, better known as Luna Haruna (Born 1991), Japanese singer and fashion model
• Aya Jones (born 1994), French model
• Aya Al Jurdi (born 1998), Lebanese footballer
• Aya Kamikawa (あや (born 1968), Japanese politician
• Aya Kamiki (彩矢, born 1985), Japanese singer
• Aya Kanno (文, born 1980), Japanese manga artist
• Aya Kawai (彩, born 1975), Japanese figure skater
• Aya Kida (綾, born 1974), Japanese photographer
• Aya Kiguchi (亜矢, born 1985), Japanese race queen and gravure idol
• Aya Kitō (亜也, 1962–1988), Japanese writer
• Aya Kōda (文, 1904–1990), Japanese essayist and novelist
• Aya Korem (born 1980), Israeli singer and songwriter
• Aya Koren (born 1979), Israeli actress
• Aya Liu (born 1978), Taiwanese actress and presenter
• Aya Majdi (born 1994), Qatari table tennis player
• Aya Matsuura (亜弥, born 1986), Japanese singer
• Aya Medany (born 1988), Egyptian pentathlete
• Aya Mikami (彩, born 1984), Japanese volleyball player
• Aya Miyama (あや, born 1985), Japanese soccer player
• Aya Nakahara (アヤ, born 1973), Japanese manga artist
• Aya Nakano (綾, born 1985), Japanese singer
• Aya Ohori (彩, born 1996), Japanese badminton player
• Aya Okamoto (綾, born 1982), Japanese actress
• Aya Ōmasa (大政 絢, born 1991), Japanese model and actress
• Aya Sameshima (彩, born 1987), Japanese soccer player
• Aya Shalkar (born 1996), Kazakh graphic designer and model
• Aya Shibata (阿弥, born 1993), Japanese tarento and announcer
• Aya Shimokozuru (綾, born 1982), Japanese soccer player
• Aya Sugimoto (彩, born 1968), Japanese actress
• Aya Sumika (born 1980), American actress
• Aya Suzaki (綾, born 1986), Japanese voice actress
• Aya Takano (綾, born 1976), Japanese artist and science fiction essayist
• Aya Takano (swimmer) (綾, born 1994), Japanese swimmer
• Aya Takeuchi (亜弥, born 1986), Japanese rugby sevens player
• Aya Tanimura (born 1980), Australian-Japanese writer and director
• Aya Tarek, Egyptian artist
• Aya Terakawa (綾, born 1984), Japanese backstroke swimmer
• Aya Traoré (born 1983), Senegalese basketball player
• Aya Uchida (彩, born 1986), a Japanese voice actress
• Aya Ueto (彩, born 1985), Japanese actress
• Aya Umemura (梅村 礼, born 1976), Japanese table tennis player
• Aya Yokoshima (横嶋 彩, born 1990), Japanese handball player

Mythological figures

• Aya (goddess), Akkadian goddess

Fictional characters

• Aya of Yopougon, the protagonist of the comic book series Aya of Yop City
• Aya Asagiri, main character from the Magical Girl Site series
• Aya Brea, a main character in the Parasite Eve video games
• Aya Drevis, main character in the horror video gameMad Father
• Aya Ikeuchi (亜也), a protagonist in the Japanese television drama 1 Litre no Namida
• Aya Iseshima (綾), main character in Master of Martial Hearts
• Aya Komichi, in the manga Kin-iro Mosaic
• Aya Natsume (亜夜), in the manga and anime series Tenjho Tenge
• Aya Maruyama, from the BanG Dream! franchise
• Aya Mikage (妖), main character in Ceres, Celestial Legend
• Aya Odagiri, from the television series Chōjin Sentai Jetman
• Aya Shameimaru (文), in the Touhou Project video game series
• Aya Toujou, a main character in the manga and anime series Strawberry 100%
• Aya Valero, a main character in the fantasy movie Wattpad
• Aya (DC Comics), from Green Lantern: The Animated Series
• Aya, the protagonist in the novel Extras
• Aya, main character in the video game series OneChanbara
• Aya, in the video game Assassin's Creed Origins
• Aya, in the video game Infinite Undiscovery

See also

• Aya (disambiguation)