Aria or Ahana?

[meera454]

Down to two...

Aria in Sanskrit means noble, traditionally spelt 'Arya' but i prefer the Aria spelling. My mother is a musician, so Aria is also a nice connection to her. Also, although not a traditional Indian name, should we go for the longer Ariana and then shorten it to Aria or would this be weird with an Indian surname? We are Hindu and Ariana is not really a traditional Sanskrit name, it is more common in Afghani/ Persian cultures, so we may decide against it..

Ahana has a beautiful meaning in Sanskrit: Inner light/ Sunrise which we think is stunning. It is pronounced A-haa-na.

I like them both so not much help to you!
I have never heard Ahana before but I automatically pronounced it as you described so it seems fine to use if she will grow up in an English speaking place.

Aria and Arya are different names to me

Aria Ar-ee-uh
Arya Ar-yuh

@Trisolaris I like the Aria - Ar-ee-uh pronunciation more

I agree that it’s nicer just wanted to check on pronunciation 😊

I think both names are lovely but Aria is very ‘in’ so it might become a bit of a dated name where everyone can tell within about 5 years exactly when she was born. If that won’t bother you then I would go for Aria over Ariana.

Ahana is more unusual, I haven’t really heard it before but would have no issues pronouncing (similar to Alana which I also really like but obviously doesn’t have the Sanskrit meaning important to you). I think if I were you that name would have the edge for me.

@Trisolaris That's really helpful, thank you! :) I agree that Ahana sounds like it will stand the test of time a lot more than Aria in the UK, although Aria has been around for ages in India. I guess the international nature of Aria is drawing me more towards it than Ahana, which is very traditional and Indian. I think Aria is a bit more ambiguous and interesting but ah such a tough decision! I love both!

Arya will make people think of Game of Thrones but if you're cool with that it's still a beaut name

Ahana. Aria is quite trendy at the moment and will date.

I prefer Ahanna. Just because Aria is so trendy a the moment. Aria is also a musical term.

I'd avoid Arya - very Game of Thrones. Aria is pretty, and very international - different meanings in different regions. I think I prefer Ahana - more unusual, I like the sound of it and the meaning is beautiful.

Not much help to you as I like them both!
Also like Riya/ Ria...
Tia?
Mia?
Priya?
Maya?

Thank you everyone for your opinions and suggestions so far! :) Does Aria sound like a boys name? There is a masculine version of Aria spelt Arya used in India and I think Aria is a boys name in Iran? Not so sure.. I was alarmed when I came across this info!

Definitely girls in the UK! I know two, both girls as well as there being popular tv show characters such as Arya from GOT and Aria from PLL both girls. I’ve seen posts on here with people considering it for girls too but never for boys.

@Trisolaris Thanks for sharing! That's reassuring :)

I want to love Ahana, the meaning is beautiful and the name seems strong yet feminine. But when I say it out loud it seems like a sneeze.

Ahana sounds absolutely beautiful, and seems like it has a nice meaning for you , so would be my choice. It may get mispronounced by some people in the UK at first (as Ah - han -ah - like the popular name Hannah with an A in front) but once corrected it shouldn't be a problem.

Love Aria! Arya unfortunately makes me think of Aryan :( But that’s just me and they’re both nice spellings!

@danascully96 I will probably go for the Aria spelling because it just looks prettier to my eyes, Arya also reminds me of that!

@Calmondeck I totally understand, I also love the name but saying it out loud, it just doesn't flow as nicely as Aria.. I am really stuck between these two names and the confusion doesn't seem to be getting any clearer!

@IamnotwhouthinkIam That's great to know, i was worried about pronunciation issues with Ahana but glad that it is fairly straight forward once you explain it to people :)

I vote aria

I think I'm starting to feel a lot more certain about Aria but Ahana is still an option, as well as Rohini , will have to see with time how we feel and whether one grows on us and just stays... (hopefully).