Asa

Where Asa comes from

Via Late Latin Asa from Koine Greek Ἀσά (Asá) from Biblical Hebrew אָסָא (ʾĀsāʾ), from Aramaic אָסְיָא (ʾāsyā, “physician, doctor, healer”), from Akkadian 𒀀𒍪 (A.ZU /⁠asû⁠/) from Sumerian 𒀀𒍪 (A.ZU /⁠azu⁠/, “physician, healer”); compare Classical Syriac ܐܵܣܝܵܐ (ʾāsyā, “healer, physician, medical doctor”) whence Arabic آسٍ (ʔāsin).
— Wiktionary's entry for Asa
  • Hebrew
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #200 among boys — 60 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1881
    Peak, #178
    65 babies named Asa — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1896
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #331.
  4. 1985
    Asa Akira born
    American pornographic actress
  5. 1997
    Asa Butterfield born
    English actor
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Hebrew first used by Puritans.
Namesakes
  • Asa Akira · American pornographic actress, born 1985
  • Asa Butterfield · English actor, born 1997
  • Asa Gray · American botanist, 1810–1888
  • Asa Hutchinson · Governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023, born 1950

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.