Zahari
A masculine given name of Arabic origin meaning "bright" or "blossoming".
Name Census estimates that about 446 living Americans carry the first name Zahari. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 56.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Zahari today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zahari births was 2024 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zahari. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Zahari with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
446
~ 1 in 768,507 Americans
Peak year
2024
47 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,684
Tracked since 2007
Gender
Gender distribution for Zahari
Zahari is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 449 total registrations, 194 (43.2%) were male and 255 (56.8%) were female.
Zahari as a male name
- Ranked #4,684 in 2024
- 22 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (25 births)
Zahari as a female name
- Ranked #5,275 in 2024
- 25 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (29 births)
Popularity
Zahari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zahari from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 226 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zahari 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 Zahari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaharis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Illinois, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Zahari, while Texas, North Carolina, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zahari
The name Zahari is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "zahar," which means "to shine" or "to be brilliant." The name is thought to have been in use as early as the ancient Hebrew scriptures, where it was sometimes used as a reference to the sun or light.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Zahari dates back to the 2nd century BCE, when a Jewish scholar and scribe named Zahari ben Avtalion was mentioned in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. He was known for his wisdom and teachings on ethics and morality.
In the 5th century CE, there was a notable figure named Zahari the Paytan, a Jewish liturgical poet who composed religious hymns and prayers. His works were widely celebrated in Jewish communities across the Mediterranean region.
During the Middle Ages, the name Zahari was found among Jewish communities in Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal. One notable bearer of the name was Zahari ben Avraham, a renowned Jewish philosopher and astronomer who lived in the 12th century in Spain.
In the 16th century, a prominent Rabbi named Zahari Halevi Horowitz lived in Prague, Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). He was a respected scholar and author of several influential works on Jewish law and ethics.
Another significant figure with the name Zahari was Zahari Stoyanov, a Bulgarian revolutionary and freedom fighter who played a crucial role in the struggle for Bulgarian independence from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century. He was born in 1850 and became a symbol of resistance against foreign occupation.
While the name Zahari has its roots in the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages over time, especially in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
People
Zahari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zahari 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
Zahari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zahari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 446 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zahari 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 768,507 US residents.
Is Zahari a common name?
We classify Zahari as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 449 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zahari most popular?
The single biggest year for Zahari was 2024, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zahari is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Zahari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zahari a female name?
Yes, 56.8% of people registered as Zahari 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.
Is Zahari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zahari in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Zahari can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Zahari?
You can see how many people have the name Zahari on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.