Asia is not only home to a vast number of peoples, languages, and cultures, but it's also a beautiful girl’s name. The word derives from the Greek Ἀσία, meaning “resurrection.” It is first mentioned by Herodotus in about 440 BCE as the name for Anatolia. Eventually, it came to mean the present-day continent. Asia also probably comes from the Semitic root Asu, which means “light” or “rising,” a reference to the sun, which rises in the east. The land of the east, where the sun resurrects itself each day, is a powerful choice for baby, especially if you have familial roots on this continent.