Asa
Asa was the 483rd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 622 babies. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked 178th; the most babies were born in 2022 (685). Over the last ten years it has moved up 47 places. More babies were named Asa in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning healer, physician · Hebrew, Aramaic
Say it AY-suh /ˈeɪsə/
- Rank in 2025
- #483 boys, up 23 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 622boys
- Girls and boys
- 12% girls, 88% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2022685 babies
- Total since 1880
- 23,067babies recorded
What does the name Asa mean?
Asa is a biblical name, the third king of Judah (1 Kings 15:9). DMNES glosses the Hebrew "healer, doctor", and Wiktionary traces it to an Aramaic word for physician, itself borrowed from Akkadian and Sumerian; Dictionary.com, however, calls the meaning uncertain. English Puritans took it up, and it was common in early America. In Scandinavia Åsa is an unrelated girl's name.
אָסָא (Biblical Hebrew, “Asa”)אָסְיָא (Aramaic, “physician, healer”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. DMNES and Wiktionary give 'healer'; Dictionary.com calls the meaning uncertain.
Related names: Asaph, Ace.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Asa', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Asa', DMNES, Durham University
- Hebrew Bible / Tanakh, I Kings 15.9, JPS translation with notes (via Sefaria), Sefaria
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Asa', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Asa popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,412 | #483 | 74 | 622 |
| 2020 | #2,320 | #506 | 76 | 574 |
| 2010 | #3,522 | #582 | 45 | 432 |
| 2000 | #6,516 | #655 | 16 | 275 |
| 1990 | #6,150 | #799 | 14 | 161 |
| 1980 | #4,749 | #755 | 15 | 135 |
| 1970 | — | #1,070 | — | 58 |
| 1960 | — | #1,154 | — | 46 |
| 1950 | — | #1,008 | — | 48 |
| 1940 | — | #862 | — | 53 |
| 1930 | #4,598 | #704 | 5 | 78 |
| 1920 | — | #615 | — | 105 |
| 1910 | — | #512 | — | 30 |
| 1900 | — | #414 | — | 30 |
| 1890 | — | #243 | — | 48 |
| 1880 | — | #200 | — | 60 |
How popular is Asa, counting every spelling?
Asa is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #486 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #483 for Asa on its own. Together these spellings went to 622 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asa | 622 | #483 | 3,143 |
| Asah | — | — | 29 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Asa?
622 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Asa (0.17 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Asa born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 13 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Asa.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Asa?
About 16,800 people born in the US named Asa are alive today, with a median age of 15; half are between 7 and 28. That makes Asa mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Asa by state
How common Asa was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maine (4.3×), Oregon (2.7×), Missouri (2.1×), Georgia (2.1×), Oklahoma (2.0×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Nevada, Nebraska, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Asa: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Asa, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Asa · Sibling names for Asa
Questions about the name Asa
What does Asa mean?
Asa is usually explained as “healer, physician”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Asa?
Asa was the 483rd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 622 babies. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked 178th; the most babies were born in 2022 (685). Over the last ten years it has moved up 47 places. More babies were named Asa in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Asa a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 12% girls, 88% boys given the name Asa in the US.
Where is Asa most popular?
In 2021–2025, Asa was most common in Maine (1.55 per 1,000 boys), followed by Oregon and Vermont.