Even though this is supposed to be pronounced AHR-ya (according to the author) I'm pretty sure most people would pronounce it AH-ree-a due to it being pronounced that way by many people on the TV show.
― Anonymous User 3/27/2021
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I'm pretty sure that this is actually the same name as Arya (1). The author also used Sansa which is Sanskrit so he seems to have used several names with language roots in India.
This is also the name of a major character from Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, Arya Drottningu. She is an elven princess, a fierce warrior, and Eragon's love interest.
I think this is one of the only Game of Thrones names that I can actually tolerate. I wouldn't use it on a daughter, though. Reminds me too much of my own nickname (which is Aya).