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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Asa?

65 replies

BlueMountains5 · 15/05/2023 17:32

My husband and I just found out that we’re having a baby boy and we’re so excited! Except for the name.. we have so many great girl names but are really struggling to find a boy’s name we like.

I love the name Asa (pronounced Ace-ah) and it’s an old family name. But I know it’s pretty uncommon. My husband really likes it too, but we don’t want to saddle our child to a name that they’ll constantly have to explain.

Thoughts?

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Superdupes · 15/05/2023 21:16

I like the sound of it but would have thought it was Assa if you hadn't said. I wouldn't call my child something that was one letter away from Ass though. I'd use Acer.

Fandabedodgy · 15/05/2023 21:07

I know one Asa. He's in his 40s and no one has any problems pronouncing his name.

It's perfectly fine name

bravotango · 15/05/2023 21:04

Shookethtothecore · 15/05/2023 19:22

I love it I wanted it but it would have been daft with our surname.

Spades?

I like Asa OP, easy to spell and pronounce, a winner!

TrudyTuesday · 15/05/2023 20:57

I absolutely love it! Was my number one choice for DS but was vetoed by my partner 😒 still bitter about it!

Ihatenicknames · 15/05/2023 20:57

I have an Asa. Some people do struggle to pronounce it but it's a great name and, as others have said, becoming more well known thanks to Asa Butterfield.

SpringIntoChaos · 15/05/2023 20:55

I had a HUGE crush on Asa Hartford growing up...70s footballer, complete with the obligatory 'footballer perm' 🤣

Not sure about it for a girl though? It's a bit harsh sounding to my ears, but whatever floats your boat OP 🤷‍♀️

ChufftyBadge · 15/05/2023 20:51

I like it

lavagal · 15/05/2023 20:49

I like it!

Somanycats · 15/05/2023 20:48

Absolutely Asa Hartford. I have always loved it for a man.

FormerlySpeckledyHen · 15/05/2023 20:45

I like it. Not heard it for a long time, since the football player Asa Hartford back in the olden days.

notsurewherenotsurewhy · 15/05/2023 20:45

CharlottenBerg · 15/05/2023 20:35

Why would any name be 'only used if you are Jewish?'. Sounds a bit of a dodgy opinion to me.

I dunno, I think some names are so very Jewish that it would inevitably lead people to assume this child is Jewish and cause confusion and sometimes awkwardness when that's not the case. I would think of, for eg, Rivka or Shmuel as being in this category. I don't think it's true of, say, Daniel or Asa.

I think the same is true for names borrowed from all cultures. At some point they seem to reach a tipping point and become less closely tied to their culture of origin (or in many cases, they actually have origins in a diverse range of cultures to start with), but I think it's always worth considering when naming a child.

Joolsin · 15/05/2023 20:39

I love it, only know one - he's in his 30s.

CharlottenBerg · 15/05/2023 20:35

Why would any name be 'only used if you are Jewish?'. Sounds a bit of a dodgy opinion to me.

AlltheFs · 15/05/2023 20:32

I know one Asa, I don’t think it has caused any issues for him. He’s a child of a former work colleague. Nice name, not 100% my cup of tea but I like it.

ParentsTrapped · 15/05/2023 20:29

I love it. I know a 2.5 year old Asa and he’s never had pronunciation issues. It’s a great name.

CharlottenBerg · 15/05/2023 20:28

CultureAlienationBoredomandDespair · 15/05/2023 17:34

I love it but DH vetoed it as he thought it was a name that should only really be used if you’re Jewish.

Nonsense. DH sounds a bit ignorant, I'm afraid. Asa means “physician” in Hebrew, “healer” in Arabic, and “morning” in Swahili, and 'born at dawn' in Japanese. If you go with the Hebrew origin, then it's an 'Old Testament' or 'Biblical' name, and no more exclusive to Jewish people than David, Daniel, or Jesse (to give three examples). Such names were very popular in the US among Gentiles during the 19th and earlier 20th centuries. As a kid I first encountered it as the name of Asa Pike, a character in a Tom Swift book (nobody remembers them). He was an New England farmer, would have been born around 1890, and was definitely not Jewish.

Luredbyapomegranate · 15/05/2023 20:18

I like it, I imagine it will get more popular as other biblical names get overused - plus the Sex Ed actor is quite big.

I don’t see why it should be limited to the Jewish community, the old and New Testament are cultural building blocks in the UK, whether you’re religious or not.

ChickpeaPie · 15/05/2023 20:13

It sounds nice but it made me think of Asda

PickledScrump · 15/05/2023 20:11

I like it. Asa butterfield is becoming pretty well known so it’s not unheard of. I dont think anyone is going to say it like Assa, that’s just silly.

notsurewherenotsurewhy · 15/05/2023 20:02

I really like it and considered it seriously for DS (12yo, eventually ended up with an Old Testament name which is not super unusual in our urban area but is not top 100).

At that time the only one I knew of was Asa Briggs, and I now also know of Asa Butterfield. I've never met one.

Bookworm12345 · 15/05/2023 19:57

It's a good name, I know a toddler boy called Asa and a 7yo girl called it too. I prefer it as a boy's name.

Inkypot · 15/05/2023 19:44

I know of one Asa. It's a really nice name and not common at all. I hadn't heard of it at all before I worked with a girl who has a son named Asa.

Thecatisboss · 15/05/2023 19:35

I've known one chap called Asa after meeting him I always pronounced his name correctly, its not a difficult name to say and it is a nice name.

Shookethtothecore · 15/05/2023 19:22

I love it I wanted it but it would have been daft with our surname.

Roselilly36 · 15/05/2023 19:21

I have known a couple of Asa’s both male, I like the name.