Asa
Masculine · “healer”
Asa is given to both — 21,166 boys and 1,901 girls since 1880. See Asa as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Asa is the name of the third king of Judah, and the Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible carried it into Europe unchanged as Ἀσά — three letters, two open vowels, the same forwards and backwards. English Puritans took it out of the Old Testament in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and it crossed to New England with them, where it stayed in family use for generations. It has been in quiet, continuous American circulation ever since.
How old is the name Asa?
Asa was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Asa alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 17,000 people named Asa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Asa most popular?
Asa peaked in 1881, reaching #178 nationally. Today it ranks #483, 305 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Where it comes from
From Hebrew אָסָא (Asa) to Asa
The story of Asa
The name begins in Hebrew, borne in the Bible by a king of Judah, and it passed into Greek and Latin scripture without being reshaped — a rare thing for a biblical name, most of which came out the other end sounding different. The Protestant Reformation put Old Testament names back into English mouths, and Asa was among those the Puritans favored; it traveled with them to colonial New England and settled into the naming stock of American families, particularly in the nineteenth century. It has never left, which is why it turns up on American records from the earliest ones onward without any single burst of fashion behind it. Today it is spread widely rather than pooled in one region, with Texas, California and Georgia showing it most.
Meaning
healer, physician
The Hebrew name is read from a root meaning to heal. Worth knowing: several identical-looking names elsewhere have nothing to do with this one — Japanese Asa is written with characters for morning or hemp, and Scandinavian Åsa comes from Old Norse. Same three letters, separate roads.
How the name formed
- Hebrew אָסָאAsa
- Greek Ἀσά
- Latin Asa
- English Asa
Related forms: אָסָא · Ἀσά · Asá · Asa
Pronouncing Asa
AY-suh
Two syllables. AY-suh is the settled English pronunciation for the biblical name. AH-suh is what you will hear for the unrelated Japanese and Scandinavian names spelled the same way, so an occasional correction comes with the territory.
Nicknames for Asa
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2022685 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #178reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −9.2%622 in 2025, from 685
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Asa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- אָסָא in Hebrew — transliteration
- Ἀσά in Greek — transliteration
- Asá in Spanish — spelling variant
- Asa in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Georgia.
Asas among us
people named Asa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 2,746 born in 2025 was named Asa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Asa sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Asa is headed
Asa should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Asa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Asa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables, four sounds, and no silent letters — once heard, it is almost always spelled right first time.
- A documented line running from Hebrew scripture through Greek and Latin into English without the name changing shape.
- Long American use rather than a fashion spike, so it sits comfortably on a child, an adult and an old man alike.
- Familiar to anyone who knows the Old Testament, while still uncommon enough that a class is unlikely to hold two.
- Two live pronunciations exist — AY-suh in English, AH-suh in Japanese and Scandinavian names of the same spelling. Most people will guess the English one, but not all of them.
- Three letters make for a short target: expect it to be read as Asia or Ada now and then, and to get lost in autocorrect and search boxes.
- Elsewhere in the world the same spelling reads as a girl's name, which matters mainly for international forms, travel and email from abroad.
- It is rare enough that he will likely be the only one he meets for years — pleasant for some, a small lifetime of explaining for others.
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Asa
Masculine · #483 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Asas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 17,000 people named Asa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Asa in 2025?
- Asa ranks #483 among US boy names in 2025, with 622 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Asa?
- About 1 in every 2,746 US boys born in 2025 was named Asa — 622 in all.
- Will my child share the name Asa with classmates?
- Asa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Asa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kasen#483 · Adan#482 · Makai#481 · Hezekiah#485 · Nasir#486 · Rowen#486 · Edgar#486 · Ruben#480
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Asa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Asa and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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