Zailani
A Malaysian feminine name meaning "beauty" or "beautiful one".
Name Census estimates that about 63 living Americans carry the first name Zailani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zailani today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zailani births was 2024 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zailani. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zailani. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
63
~ 1 in 5,440,545 Americans
Peak year
2024
18 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,604
Tracked since 2020
Popularity
Zailani: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Zailani 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 Zailani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 0 | 63 | 63 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Zailani
The name Zailani has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "zain," which means "beauty" or "adornment." The suffix "-i" denotes a possessive or descriptive form, suggesting that Zailani means "one who possesses beauty" or "the beautiful one."
In the early days of Islam, the name Zailani was particularly popular among Arab tribes in the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant region. It was often given to children as a mark of appreciation for their physical beauty or as a wish for them to grow up to be beautiful individuals, both inside and out.
The name Zailani has been mentioned in several historical records and texts from the medieval Islamic world. One notable reference is found in the writings of the 9th-century Arab scholar Al-Jahiz, who mentioned a woman named Zailani in his work "Kitab al-Hayawan" (The Book of Animals).
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Zailani. One of the earliest recorded examples is Zailani bint Abi Bakr (c. 610 - 680 CE), who was the daughter of the first Caliph of Islam, Abu Bakr, and the sister of the famous Muslim scholar Aisha.
Another prominent figure was Zailani al-Kindi (c. 801 - 873 CE), an Arab philosopher, mathematician, and scientist who made significant contributions to the fields of optics, medicine, and cryptography. He was considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Islamic Golden Age.
In the 12th century, Zailani al-Maqdisi (c. 1100 - 1180 CE) was a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from Jerusalem. He was known for his extensive knowledge of Sharia law and his influential writings on various aspects of Islamic jurisprudence.
During the Ottoman Empire, there was a notable Ottoman statesman named Zailani Pasha (c. 1530 - 1596 CE), who served as the Grand Vizier (chief minister) under Sultan Murad III. He played a crucial role in the administration and governance of the Ottoman Empire during his tenure.
In more recent times, Zailani Ismail (1936 - 2019) was a Malaysian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1984 to 1986. He was instrumental in shaping Malaysia's foreign policy and strengthening the country's international relations.
People
Zailani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zailani 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
Zailani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zailani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 63 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zailani 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 5,440,545 US residents.
Is Zailani a common name?
We classify Zailani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 63 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zailani most popular?
The single biggest year for Zailani was 2024, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zailani is about 4 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 Zailani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zailani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zailani 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 Zailani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zailani 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 Zailani 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 have the name Zailani?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.