Kaya is a short name with several independent sources: in Turkish it means "rock", in Japanese it can be written with characters for "yew tree" or "summer night", and in the Hopi language it is traditionally explained as "elder sister". That mix of roots makes it feel at home in many cultures. In the United States Kaya has been in the top 1000 since 2000, peaked at number 540 in 2003 and ranks 1133 in 2025.