Ria is a derivative of the name of Goddess Lakshmi in Hinduism and means rich in Indian culture ("Meaning of Ria"). Goddess Lakshmi represents overall prosperity and is known best for being the God of wealth, good fortune, and perseverance. This representation was something my parents wanted to encapsulate my future. 

It’s interesting to compare the meaning of my name from my culture to other cultures as my name actually means small river in Spanish ("Ria Baby Name").  Though a popular name within my own culture, in American culture Ria doesn’t ever appear in the U.S. Social Security Baby Name Database to crack the top one thousand names. When spelled Riya, it accounts for .014 percent of girls born in 2017 and .033 percent of female births in 2023 (the only years to make the list). Riya, the most common spelling of my name, reached its peak popularity in 2005, the year I was born. Interestingly, I’ve only ever met 3 other Riya’s in my life and one of them was when I came to Michigan! 

My name was truly not supposed to be mine. Ria, which is now my first name, was supposed to be my middle name and Mansi was supposed to be my first. My parents had a name picked out for each month of the year and whichever month I was going to be born into would decide my given name. My parents were keen on keeping the unique spelling of Ria in my name, so rather than having it as my middle name they kept it as my first. (I still have the birthday cards where my name is spelled Riya and not Ria). One of the main factors contributing to my name and its spelling was that my parents, both immigrants from India, wanted a name easier for Americans to pronounce. “Nothing more than 3 or 4 letters, and something short” was the ideal goal for my parents. Unfortunately, though my name is a mere three letters, it is still mispronounced as “RYE-AH” quite often and I still dread listening for my name to be called during class attendance. 

Personally, I feel as though the name “Ria” suits me and I can’t imagine having people call me by my middle name instead of my first. Though I used to envy kids with “cool” nicknames and loathed the three letters that didn’t allow me to have one, I’ve grown to appreciate and embrace my full name and each and every one of its three letters. 

Works Cited

“Meaning of Ria.” Bachpan.com, https://www.bachpan.com/meaning-of-ria.aspx.  Accessed February 9, 2025.

"Ria Baby Name." The Bump, https://www.thebump.com/b/ria-baby-name. Accessed February  9, 2025.

Social Security Administration. Popular Baby Names. U.S. Social Security Administration,  https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/. Accessed February 9, 

2025.