Rasha

Meaning of Rasha

The appellation Rasha, etymologically anchored in the Classical Arabic lexeme رشا (rašā), conveys the notion of “young gazelle” and functions as a unisex choice within contemporary naming conventions; phonologically rendered /rɑːʃə/, it comprises an initial low back vowel, a postalveolar fricative, and a mid-central vowel, thus ensuring cross-cultural intelligibility in Anglo-American contexts. Onomastic analysis of U.S. Social Security Administration data reveals its first recorded entries in 1961 (five occurrences, rank 786), a usage apex in the early 1990s (26 occurrences, rank 839 in 1992), followed by a gradual stabilization through the 2000s and 2010s, and concluding with seven occurrences (rank 951) in 2023. These longitudinal fluctuations underscore Rasha’s enduring yet modest presence, reflecting both diasporic transmission and the name’s technical appeal to parents seeking a distinctive appellation that harmonizes semantic depth with phonetic transparency.

Pronunciation

Arabic

• Pronunced as RAH-sha (/rɑːʃə/)

• Rashawn
• Rashad
• Rashida
• Rashmi
• Rashi
• Rashelle