Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra finally put an end to all curiosity when they revealed the name of their baby girl.
The couple, who welcomed their daughter in July, took to Instagram on November 28 to share that they have named her Saraayah Malhotra.
They didn’t reveal her face but posted a picture of the newborn’s tiny feet wrapped in white crocheted socks.
Their caption read, “From our prayers, to our arms our divine blessing, our princess, Saraayah Malhotra,” with folded hands and heart emojis.
Within minutes, fans started asking one question repeatedly: What does the name Saraayah actually mean?
The name turned out to be quite interesting. Saraayah (also spelt Saraya or Sarayah) has roots in Hebrew and Arabic, and carries meanings like “God’s princess,” “princess,” “noble lady,” “palace” and even “noble dwelling.”
Beyond these meanings, the name also holds spiritual interpretations. In some contexts, it is associated with the idea that “Yahweh is ruler” or represents themes like brightness, radiance and divine protection.
Saraayah and its close variants have been recorded in US Social Security data since 2000. The spelling Saraya showed a small popularity peak in 2016 when about 44 babies per million received the name.
Even today, Saraayah remains rare as it ranks 2654 in 2021 with 64 births and around 2048 in 2024. So even in the US, the name is considered uncommon and unique.
In the UK, the name does appear occasionally but does not feature in the top lists according to ONS data. Internationally, too, the name stays uncommon and is mostly used in Hebrew- and Arabic-influenced communities. So, it stands as a name you rarely get to hear.
Pakistan does show small pockets of usage. The name appears on Muslim baby-name websites with a low popularity rank of around 86,000. That means it is recognised but rarely chosen and has seen limited usage mostly within Arabic-influenced families.
Across India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the name is almost unheard of. None of these countries release detailed naming statistics, but culturally, the name isn’t commonly used.
But now that Kiara and Sidharth have chosen Saraayah, the name is going to catch attention in India. Celebrity baby names often spark trends in India and this one will be no less different.
