Zaiah
A feminine name derived from the Arabic word "zayyah" meaning "brilliant one".
Name Census estimates that about 380 living Americans carry the first name Zaiah. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Zaiah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zaiah births was 2023 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zaiah. 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 Zaiah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
380
~ 1 in 901,985 Americans
Peak year
2023
35 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,767
Tracked since 2002
Census
Zaiah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 262 people with the first name Zaiah, which placed it at #32,242 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#32,242
National first-name rank
People counted
262
262 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
32.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zaiah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zaiah is Black at 32.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.2%) and White (25.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Zaiah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Zaiah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American32.8% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino28.2% · 74
- White25.6% · 67
- Two or more races7.6% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Zaiah
Zaiah is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 383 total registrations, 156 (40.7%) were male and 227 (59.3%) were female.
Zaiah as a male name
- Ranked #7,710 in 2024
- 11 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (13 births)
Zaiah as a female name
- Ranked #5,767 in 2024
- 22 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (22 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zaiah on both sides of the split. Of the 261 people counted with this name, 121 were male (46.4%) and 140 were female (53.6%).
Popularity
Zaiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zaiah 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 158 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
Zaiah 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 Zaiah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaiahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zaiah
The name Zaiah is a relatively modern and unique name with uncertain origins. It is believed to have been derived from the Hebrew name Zayah or Zayin, which means "olive tree" or "olive branch." The name may also have ties to the Arabic name Zaynah, meaning "beautiful" or "adornment."
Some scholars suggest that the name Zaiah could be a combination of the Hebrew name Zayah and the Arabic name Aiah, which means "miracle" or "sign." This possible blend of Hebrew and Arabic roots reflects the cultural diversity and influences present in the regions where these languages are spoken.
While there are no definitive records of the name Zaiah in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its potential connection to the olive tree and the concept of beauty in Arabic culture could make it a symbolic name with deeper spiritual or cultural significance.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Zaiah are relatively recent, dating back to the late 20th century or early 21st century. However, due to its unique and modern nature, there are few notable historical figures with this name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Zaiah is Zaiah Crespin, a French singer and songwriter born in the early 1990s. Her music often blends elements of pop, R&B, and soul, and she has gained a following in the French music scene.
Another individual with the name Zaiah is Zaiah Farwest, an American actress and model born in the late 1990s. She has appeared in various television shows and films, primarily in supporting roles.
In the world of sports, Zaiah Payne is a young American basketball player who has gained recognition for her skills on the court. Born in the early 2000s, she has played for various youth and high school teams, showcasing her talent and potential.
Zaiah Blackhorn is an Indigenous Canadian artist and activist from the early 2000s. Her work often explores themes of cultural identity, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights, using a combination of traditional and contemporary art forms.
Lastly, Zaiah Munro is a British fashion designer and entrepreneur born in the late 20th century. Her clothing line, which emphasizes sustainable and ethical fashion, has gained popularity among environmentally conscious consumers.
While the name Zaiah is relatively new and uncommon, it holds the potential to become more widespread as parents seek unique and meaningful names for their children. Its possible connections to various cultural and linguistic roots add depth and intrigue to this modern moniker.
People
Zaiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zaiah 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
Zaiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zaiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 380 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zaiah 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 901,985 US residents.
Is Zaiah a common name?
We classify Zaiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zaiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zaiah was 2023, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zaiah is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zaiah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 262 people with the name Zaiah, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,242 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Zaiah in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Zaiah?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zaiah on both sides of the split. Of the 261 people counted with this name, 121 were male (46.4%) and 140 were female (53.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Zaiah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zaiah is Black at 32.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.2%) and White (25.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Zaiah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zaiah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 32.8% (86 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Zaiah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zaiah a female name?
Yes, 59.3% of people registered as Zaiah 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 Zaiah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zaiah 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 Zaiah 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.
How many Americans are named Zaiah?
See how many people share the name Zaiah on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.