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🌙 Very RareGirl nameSanskritHindu

Shanaya

“Eminent, the first ray of the sun”

2 syllables · 7 letters

About the name Shanaya

Shanaya is a modern name with a slightly disputed etymology, usually glossed as the sun's first ray or as eminence. Its glossy, film-adjacent sound has made it one of the defining Indian girls' names of the 2010s.

Shanaya is a girl name of Sanskrit origin, pronounced shuh-NY-aa. On the NameRarity scale it scores 81 out of 100, which places it in the very rare band — a genuinely uncommon pick — most people have never met anyone with this name. Its strongest period was the 2010s.

Associated with
glamorouswarmconfidentmodern

Name facts at a glance

Meaning
Eminent, the first ray of the sun
Origin
Sanskrit
Gender
Girl
Pronunciation
shuh-NY-aa
Syllables
2
Letters
7
US rank
Outside top 1000
Peak era
2010s
Rarity
81 / 100
Per million
~5.8
Starts with
S
Numerology
6 · The Nurturer

How popular is Shanaya?

Popularity19/100
Rarity81/100

Shanaya currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 5.8 people per million carry it — about 1 in 172,414. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.

Famous people named Shanaya

  • Shanaya Kapoor
    Indian actress and star kid of the Kapoor film family

Spellings and variants of Shanaya

ShanaiaShanaiyaShanayaa

Names similar to Shanaya

Very Rare

Esha

AY-shaa

Desire, one who is wished for

Sanskrit78% rare
Very Rare

Sharda

SHAR-dah

Of the autumn; an epithet of Saraswati as goddess of learning

Sanskrit86% rare
Very Rare

Ahana

uh-HAA-naa

First light of dawn, inner radiance

Sanskrit79% rare
Rare

Jaya

JAH-yah

Victory; also a name of Durga in her triumphant aspect

Sanskrit73% rare
Rare

Kavya

KAAV-yaa

Poetry, a literary composition

Sanskrit74% rare
Very Rare

Nitya

NIT-yaa

Eternal, constant, a name of Durga

Sanskrit85% rare
Very Rare

Shreeya

SHREE-yaa

Prosperity, auspicious good fortune

Sanskrit86% rare
Rare

Shreya

SHRAY-ah

Auspicious, most excellent, better than the rest

Sanskrit66% rare
Browse all 1,284 names →

Shanaya — frequently asked questions

What does the name Shanaya mean?

Shanaya means "Eminent, the first ray of the sun". It is a name of Sanskrit origin, most often given to a girl.

How do you pronounce Shanaya?

Shanaya is pronounced shuh-NY-aa, with 2 syllables.

How rare is the name Shanaya?

Shanaya scores 81 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it very rare. Roughly 1 in every 172,414 people carry it — about 5.8 per million.

What is the numerology number for Shanaya?

Shanaya carries the expression number 6, known as The Nurturer. Its soul urge number is 3 and its personality number is 3.

What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Shanaya?

The lucky number for Shanaya is 6 (with 15, 24, 33 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Rose Blush. The traditional lucky day is Friday and the associated gemstone is Rose Quartz.