Girl · Arabic · Muslim
Suraiya
ثریاSay it su-RAI-ya
- Meaning today
- Pleiades, star, chandelier
- Original meaning
- "the Pleiades, the star cluster called by the Arabs 'the asterism'" Lane, p. 335–336
- Say it
- su-RAI-ya
- Written
- ثریا
- Other spellings
- Soraya, Suraya, Surayya, Thuraya
Suraiya
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Suraiya meaning
Suraiya (ثریا) is a Muslim girl's name of Arabic origin.
The Pleiades, the star cluster called by the Arabs 'the asterism'
Also used to mean: chandelier
Suraiya (ثریا) is the Arabic al-Thurayyā, said with an s in Urdu and Persian. Lane's lexicon gives it as the Pleiades, the third of the lunar mansions, a cluster so prized that the Arabs called it simply al-najm, "the asterism". Lane explains the word as a diminutive of tharwā, "rich, abundant", linked by some to the plentiful rain of the cluster's setting, and notes a later use for a cluster of lamps. Name lists give Suraiya as "the Pleiades" or "star". In India it is linked with Suraiya, the singing star of Hindi cinema.
Source: Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon (1863–93), Book I, Part 1, p. 335–336 · entry al-thurayyā (الثُّرَيَّا), root th-r-w · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Lane, Arabic–English Lexicon, al-thurayyā, Book I p. 335–336 · Wikipedia, Suraiya
Famous namesakes
- Suraiya, Hindi film actress and singer
Spellings
Suraiya · Soraya · Suraya · Surayya · Thuraya