Aria

Aria has Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Persian roots and has various meanings depending on the culture it's in. In Italian, Aria translates to "air" but also means song or melody. An Aria is an elaborate vocal solo in an opera, making this elegant name a perfect fit for musically inclined parents.

Aria 's other meanings are equally appealing. In Persian, Aria means "noble." In Hebrew, Aria is derived from the name Ariel, which means "lion of God." And in Greek mythology, Aria (or Areia) is a nymph from the island of Crete who had a son with Apollo, the god of music and poetry.

In recent years, the name Aria has soared in popularity in the U.S. Characters on hit television series such as Aria Montgomery on Pretty Little Liars and Arya Stark from Game of Thrones have no doubt contributed to this name's climb up the charts.

Aria is a gender-neutral name that can be used for boys or girls, and it 's primarily a name for boys in some parts of the world. In the U.S., however, it's mostly given to girls. The three-syllable name is pronounced are-ee-uh (or ar-ya with the variation Arya). Possible nicknames include Ari, Ri and Riri. Aria can also be a nickname for longer names like Ariana and Ariadne.

The name Aria first appeared on the Social Security Administration 's list of top baby names for girls in 2000. It steadily increased in popularity over the next 20 years and broke into the top-100 names for girls in the U.S. in 2012.

BabyCenter parents are also drawn to this name, ranking it in the top 20 names for girls for the past several years. (BabyCenter's ranking is based on data from hundreds of thousands of parents who share their baby 's name with us.)

Like many of the most popular baby names now, Aria is short, sweet, and heavy on the vowels (similar to Olivia, Emma, Ava, Amelia, Mia, Liam, and Noah). With its beautiful meanings and melodic sound, Aria is sure to strike the right chord with parents for years to come.