Zahira
A feminine Arabic name meaning "brilliant," "shining," or "resplendent."
Name Census estimates that about 1,166 living Americans carry the first name Zahira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zahira today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zahira births was 2008 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zahira. 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.
Key insights
- • Zahira is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 293,957 Americans
Peak year
2008
69 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,948
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Zahira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zahira from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 411 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Zahira remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zahira 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 Zahira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zahiras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Zahira, while Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 67 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zahira
The name Zahira traces its origins to the Arabic language, where it is derived from the word "zahir," meaning "radiant" or "shining." This name has been in use for centuries, particularly in regions with significant Arab and Islamic cultural influence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zahira can be found in the famous literary work "One Thousand and One Nights," a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales dating back to the Islamic Golden Age (8th-13th centuries). The name appears in the story of "The Three Apples," where a character named Zahira plays a significant role.
In Islamic history, Zahira was the name of a renowned female scholar and poet who lived in Cordoba, Spain, during the 10th century. She was known for her expertise in various fields, including literature, poetry, and theology, and contributed significantly to the intellectual and cultural development of the Andalusian region.
During the 13th century, a notable figure named Zahira bint al-Mustansir was the daughter of the Ayyubid Sultan al-Mustansir, who ruled over parts of modern-day Syria and Lebanon. She was known for her philanthropy and patronage of intellectual pursuits, establishing several educational institutions and libraries.
In the realm of literature, the name Zahira appears in the works of renowned Persian poet Rumi (1207-1273). One of his poems, titled "Zahira's Lament," is dedicated to a woman named Zahira, possibly a real person or a symbolic representation.
Another notable figure bearing the name Zahira was a 16th-century Ottoman princess and daughter of Sultan Selim II. She was renowned for her artistic talents and her patronage of the arts, contributing to the cultural flourishing of the Ottoman Empire during her lifetime.
Throughout history, various other individuals have carried the name Zahira, including scholars, artists, and historical figures across different cultures and regions influenced by Arabic and Islamic traditions.
People
Zahira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zahira 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
Zahira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zahira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,166 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zahira 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 293,957 US residents.
Is Zahira a common name?
We classify Zahira as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,184 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zahira most popular?
The single biggest year for Zahira was 2008, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zahira is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zahira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zahira 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.