What Does The Name HOMA Mean?

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When the founders of Homa, Sophie, Jane and Robbie, began dreaming up this project, we wanted a name that carried meaning, something alive, symbolic and resonant across cultures.

We didn’t just want a name that sounded good; we wanted one that felt good. A name that expressed the essence of the work we do: grounded, transformative and deeply human.

Where the name HOMA began

The seed of HOMA came from Robbie.

Ten years before HOMA became a humanistic psychotherapy training, it was the name of the restaurant Robbie created, a space rooted in nourishment, community and care.

At the time, Robbie’s lifelong love of languages led her back to Esperanto, the international language designed to connect people across borders.

In Esperanto, HOMA means human, humanly, the quality of being human.

That idea became the foundation of what Homa training would later grow to represent. Whether through food or therapy, Robbie’s work and now HOMA's, has always been about that same thing: being human together.

Robbie’s love of Greece and its language inspired the connection to the Greek word, Homa (χόμα) meaning soil, earth, nature.

It felt like another piece of the puzzle. Robbie has always been an earthy, grounded woman and her restaurant served food grown from organic soil. The connection between nourishment, nature and human wholeness felt effortless. At HOMA this has a become an integral part of who we are, as a team, and as an organisation.  We believe in providing nourishing soil and growing deep roots.

And then there was the sound of the word itself: HOMA, so close to home.

That echo resonated deeply with Robbie’s passion for creating beautiful, welcoming spaces whether through food, design or human connection.

As the founders played with name after name, we kept coming back to the one that captured our hearts: HOMA.

So, at first, HOMA training was born from Esperanto, Greek and the echoes of home, from humanity, earth, and belonging.

And then, more meanings revealed themselves…

As our psychotherapy training began to take shape, we discovered that HOMA also carried meanings in other languages, each one, almost magically, reflecting another aspect of what we teach and believe.

In Persian: the Bird of Good Fortune

In Persian mythology, HOMA (or Huma) is a mythical bird that never lands on the ground. It soars high above the world and legend says that whoever is touched by its shadow is blessed with happiness and success.

The HOMA bird is a symbol of joy, freedom and transformation, qualities at the heart of healing.

At its best, psychotherapy helps us lift out of heaviness, rediscover lightness and possibility and remember that transformation sometimes happens in motion, in flight.

In Sanskrit: the Fire of Offering

In Sanskrit, HOMA is a sacred fire ritual, an offering to the divine made through flame.

We loved that image: transformation through fire.

In therapy, too, we bring our stories, fears and pain into the light, and through that offering, something can be purified, renewed and reimagined.

The Sanskrit HOMA reminds us that healing isn’t mechanical, it’s sacred, alive and full of spirit and that sometimes if we are willing to sit in the fire, new growth will emerge.

And even the Urban Dictionary had a gift for us…

In the Urban Dictionary, HOMA appears as a Nigerian name meaning a good thing, a good, beautiful and reserved person; smart, honest and close to family.

We loved that too.

Psychotherapy is about rediscovering the goodness within ourselves, the quiet, honest beauty that has always been there, waiting beneath the noise.

So why HOMA?

Because it brings together everything we believe in

• The humanity and connection of Esperanto,

• The earthiness of Greek,

• The comforting echo of home,

• The freedom and hope of the Persian bird,

• The transformative fire of the Sanskrit ritual,

• And the goodness and honesty of a Nigerian name

For us, HOMA isn’t just a name, it’s a philosophy.

It reminds us that healing is not one thing;

It’s earth, fire, air and heart.

It’s ancient and modern.

It’s personal and universal.

It’s the work of transformation

... and the joy of being human.

Welcome to Homa

A place where we learn to rise, root and renew together.