Aida is an Arabic name that means "returning" or "visitor", from the root meaning to return; it is also used in Spanish, Italian and the Balkans. Verdi's opera Aida of 1871, about an Ethiopian princess enslaved in Egypt, made the name known across Europe and America. In the United States Aida ranked number 1817 in 2000, peaked at number 1004 in 2005, just short of the top 1000, and stands at number 1414 in 2025.