# Daya (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/daya/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Sanskrit |
| Meaning | “pity”, “mercy”, “compassion” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 935 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 8 / 927 (99% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 639, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit दया (dayā, “pity, mercy, compassion”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 23 | 5,787 |
| 2012 | 20 | 6,400 |
| 2013 | 26 | 5,175 |
| 2014 | 27 | 5,059 |
| 2015 | 42 | 3,669 |
| 2016 | 45 | 3,479 |
| 2017 | 50 | 3,208 |
| 2018 | 52 | 3,119 |
| 2019 | 32 | 4,366 |
| 2020 | 33 | 4,190 |
| 2021 | 47 | 3,353 |
| 2022 | 29 | 4,697 |
| 2023 | 42 | 3,657 |
| 2024 | 43 | 3,591 |
| 2025 | 43 | 3,535 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | 9,103 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 24 | 1,295 |
| 2012 | 24 | 1,342 |
| 2013 | 26 | 1,291 |
| 2014 | 26 | 1,272 |
| 2015 | 30 | 1,139 |
| 2016 | 26 | 1,278 |
| 2017 | 31 | 1,105 |
| 2018 | 37 | 972 |
| 2019 | 34 | 1,017 |
| 2020 | 21 | 1,449 |
| 2021 | 25 | 1,286 |
| 2022 | 22 | 1,416 |
| 2023 | 31 | 1,087 |
| 2024 | 39 | 918 |
| 2025 | 30 | 1,110 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 3 | 3,467 |
| 2006 | 3 | 4,052 |
| 2008 | 3 | 4,432 |
| 2009 | 3 | 4,527 |
| 2010 | 5 | 3,332 |
| 2012 | 3 | 4,805 |
| 2013 | 7 | 2,660 |
| 2014 | 4 | 3,895 |
| 2016 | 8 | 2,556 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,040 |
| 2018 | 7 | 2,693 |
| 2021 | 5 | 3,451 |
| 2023 | 5 | 3,523 |
| 2024 | 7 | 2,921 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2,269 |

## In other languages

- Hindi: दया

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.