# Soraya (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/soraya/  
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 | Persian |
| Meaning | “brilliant gem”, “pleiades” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Surayya, Surayyo, Sorayya |
| US babies named this | 6,811 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 6,811 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,368, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Iranian Persian ثریا (sorayyâ), from Classical Persian ثریا (surayyā, “brilliant gem; Pleiades”), ultimately from Arabic ثُرَيَّا (ṯurayyā).

## What it means

Soraya is grouped under jewel.

## 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 | 219 | 1,121 |
| 2012 | 198 | 1,230 |
| 2013 | 192 | 1,246 |
| 2014 | 180 | 1,319 |
| 2015 | 201 | 1,233 |
| 2016 | 197 | 1,240 |
| 2017 | 177 | 1,320 |
| 2018 | 187 | 1,248 |
| 2019 | 215 | 1,132 |
| 2020 | 196 | 1,186 |
| 2021 | 262 | 990 |
| 2022 | 242 | 1,054 |
| 2023 | 212 | 1,150 |
| 2024 | 292 | 911 |
| 2025 | 313 | 868 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 56 | 692 |
| 2012 | 73 | 580 |
| 2013 | 67 | 608 |
| 2014 | 56 | 699 |
| 2015 | 55 | 722 |
| 2016 | 49 | 790 |
| 2017 | 63 | 661 |
| 2018 | 55 | 720 |
| 2019 | 71 | 570 |
| 2020 | 58 | 643 |
| 2021 | 59 | 654 |
| 2022 | 58 | 647 |
| 2023 | 62 | 608 |
| 2024 | 54 | 696 |
| 2025 | 76 | 526 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: ثُرَيَّا
- French: Soraya
- Spanish: Soraya

## People named Soraya

- Soraya Haddad, Algerian judoka
- Soraya Post, former Swedish MEP (2014–2019)
- Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter
- Soraya Thronicke, Brazilian politician and lawyer
- Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Chilean-Canadian politician
- Soraya Rahim Sobhrang, Afghan politician, physician, and human rights activist

## 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.