Zafirah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "victorious" or "triumphant".
Name Census estimates that about 181 living Americans carry the first name Zafirah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zafirah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zafirah births was 2009 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zafirah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
181
~ 1 in 1,893,670 Americans
Peak year
2009
13 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,187
Tracked since 1985
Popularity
Zafirah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zafirah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 88 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zafirah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Zafirah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zafirah
The name Zafirah is of Arabic origin and is derived from the word "zafir," which means "victorious" or "successful" in Arabic. It is a feminine name that has been used in various Islamic cultures and regions for centuries.
The earliest recorded use of the name Zafirah dates back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic Golden Age. It was a period of significant cultural and intellectual advancements in the Arab world, and many names with positive connotations, such as Zafirah, gained popularity.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Zafirah can be found in the works of renowned Arab scholars and poets from that era. Some scholars suggest that the name might have been inspired by verses from the Quran, which often emphasize the concepts of victory and success.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zafirah. One example is Zafirah bint Umar al-Ghassaniyah (c. 685 - c. 720 CE), a highly respected Arab poet and scholar from the Umayyad Caliphate. Her poetic works were widely celebrated and have been preserved in various anthologies.
Another prominent figure with the name Zafirah was Zafirah al-Jili (1153 - 1225 CE), a renowned Sufi mystic and philosopher from present-day Iran. Her writings on Islamic spirituality and mysticism continue to be studied and revered by scholars and followers of Sufism.
In the 13th century, Zafirah al-Hamdaniyah (c. 1225 - c. 1295 CE) was a prominent Arab mathematician and astronomer from present-day Yemen. She made significant contributions to the fields of trigonometry and celestial mechanics, and her works were widely studied in the Islamic world.
During the Ottoman Empire, Zafirah Sultan (c. 1530 - c. 1580 CE) was a notable figure who served as the Haseki Sultan (chief consort) to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She played an influential role in the Ottoman court and was known for her patronage of arts and architecture.
Another historical figure with the name Zafirah was Zafirah Begum (1608 - 1692 CE), a Mughal princess and patron of the arts. She commissioned several architectural masterpieces, including the famous Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) in Lahore, Pakistan.
People
Zafirah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zafirah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zafirah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zafirah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 181 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zafirah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,893,670 US residents.
Is Zafirah a common name?
We classify Zafirah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 183 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zafirah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zafirah was 2009, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zafirah is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zafirah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zafirah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.