Zaria

Photo Courtesy of Unposed Kids Photography

Today's nature name Zaria was plucked from Waltzing More Than Matilda's debut book 'International Baby Names for Australian Parents', which is full of good ideas even if you're not in Australia.

Zaria has a few possible pronunciations, which include ZAHR-ee-ah (my favourite), ZAHR-yah; or zah-RY-uh. And just as she has multiple pronunciations, she also has multiple origins in Russian/Slavic, Arabic, Swahili and Hebrew.

In Russian Zaria (or Zarya) means 'dawn' or 'sunrise'. It may also have links to the Zorya, who in Slavic mythology are two (or three) guardian goddesses known as the Auroras. They represent the Morning Star and the Evening Star, the third one being the Midnight Star, who is sometimes omitted. They watch over the doomsday hound who would bring on the end of the world if his chain were to break.

This is not the only link Zaria has to Slavic mythology, either. Zaria (separate to the Zorya) is the goddess of beauty, who was known as "the heavenly bride" and associated with the morning. According to Wikipedia, people prayed to her at dawn and thought her to be "the brightest maiden, pure, sublime, honourable". She was also known as a water priestess who protected warriors and was invoked to protect against death in battle.

Another popular belief is that Zaria comes from the Arabic name Zahrah, meaning 'blooming flower'. Similarly, the Swahili name Zahra also means 'flower', giving this name a lovely floral connection that is far less literal than options like Flora or Fleur or the wide range of floral word names like Rose and Lily.

It's also possible that Zaria is a variant of Sarah, a Hebrew name meaning 'princess'; or perhaps Zara, meaning 'radiance'. Which brings us full circle back to the Russian association with sunrise.

Zaria fits in well with todays' namescape - a little less popular than Zara (who feels quite popular in Australia) but without the "dingoes took my baby" association we Australians have with the name Azaria. In the U.S she was positioned at #857 on the charts in 2012, putting her in company with names such as Lara, Sky, Alyvia and Elliot; all of which seem comparatively much more recognised and/or "trendy" at the moment. So she's popular enough to be liked by many, but not so commonly discussed that she feels like she's much more commonly used than she actually is. Anecdotally, much of it's American popularity seems to be amongst African Americans, as a nod to their African heritage via the Nigerian city of Zaria.

I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that Zaria has a beautiful, lovely exotic sound and feel. I love the rich history and varied associations - it even has dual nature meanings! Zaria seems to me to be an understated name that nevertheless makes a statement, and a stylish one at that.

Alaya

"On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese-a-laying"

The reason why I've picked Alaya would possibly be a source of teasing for this name too. I can just imagine  taunts of "hey Alaya, what 'cha layin'?" But I hate to look at potential problems before properly considering the beauty in a name first.

Alaya (pronounced ah-LAY-ah) is one of those names that when I first heard it a couple of years ago, I couldn't understand why I hadn't heard of it before that. It's very reminiscent of names like Layla and Ayla - it's soft and lilting and feminine. It's pronounced pretty much how it appears, which makes it easy for people to say and is a good choice if you yourself disliked having to explain how to say your name and want to avoid this for your child. And I do so like girl's names that start and end in A.

Some sources say that Alaya is a modern American invented name. But this doesn't seem to be the case, instead it is apparent that it it a variant of either Alaia or Aliya, or perhaps both. From these, Alaya has a few different origins and meanings. In Basque it means 'joyful', in Hebrew it means 'to ascend', in Arabic it means 'lofty, sublime' and in Swahili it means 'exalted'. Alaya has a similar meaning for Buddhists, as one of the eight consciousnesses. The alaya-vijnana is the base consciousness that the other seven evolve from. Taken together, it seems that if you are looking for a name relating to a higher point or power - as Kim Kardashian and Kanye reportedly were thinking when they chose North - Alaya would be a strong contender.

Alaya first appeared on the SSA charts in 1979, and made it's way into the U.S top 1000 in 2009. In 2012 it was #813, which puts it in that comfortable middle ground of not super obscure but not super common.

Alaya is a pretty, underused choice with some pretty inspirational meanings. It would make a lovely name for a girl, no matter the time of year.