Sia

Australian Music Artist Sia

There are plenty of great girls names of the three-letter-ends-in-"ia" variety. The reigning queen for quite some time has been Mia - in Australia, the US and UK she was a top 10 name (at #5, #8 and #10) in 2013. But no-one loves her more than the Germans. In 2013 Mia was their number one girls name!

At the other end of the spectrum you'll find Sia, pronounced SEE-ah. In the US she was ranked #2979 in 2013, so is much, much rarer. Up until a few years ago you may not have heard of the name, but an Australian musician by the name of Sia has been giving this name a lot of exposure, albeit in an understated fashion.

You may recognise the name but have trouble placing her. Sia has been in the music industry for years, collaborating with many great artists. In 2010 she worked with Christina Aguilera, gaining a Golden Globe nomination for best original song from the soundtrack of 'Burlesque' and appearing as an advisor for team Aguilera on 'The Voice'. She had continued success with her next (and fifth studio album) 'We Are Born'. She was the vocals on the David Guetta track 'Titanium', and more recently had a chart topper with 'Chandelier'. And as an aside, if you haven't seen the Jim Carrey skit on 'Saturday Night Live' based on the video clip for 'Chandelier', you should. It's hilarious.

But where does the name Sia come from? Seems it has a few possible origins. Different sources claim it to be:

• Of Indian origin, derived from the goddess Sita who represents the feminine virtues of dedication, self-sacrifice, courage and purity;
• A Hebrew name meaning 'helper';
• Derived from the Old Norse "sigr", hence a Swedish name meaning 'victory';
• A Scottish word meaning 'six';
• A variant of the Arabic name Zia, meaning 'light, splendour or glow';
• Of Swedish origin, meaning 'prophesy'; or
• Persian in origin, meaning 'one who brings joy'. 

Whichever it means, it feels like the time is right for Sia to rise. She's just different and quirky enough to feel fresh and cool, yet familiar enough not to be intimidating to parents debating whether it's usable. Or maybe you think this would make a cute and spunky nickname. In which case you might want to consider names such as Anastasia, Sienna, Elyssia, Alexia, Cassia or even Sophia for the birth certificate.

Give it a few years and I'm sure you'll notice many more Sia's turning up in birth announcements.