Zakiah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "pure" or "virtuous".
Name Census estimates that about 685 living Americans carry the first name Zakiah. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 66.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Zakiah today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zakiah births was 2006 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zakiah. 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
685
~ 1 in 500,371 Americans
Peak year
2006
39 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,434
Tracked since 1990
Gender
Gender distribution for Zakiah
Zakiah is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 692 total registrations, 233 (33.7%) were male and 459 (66.3%) were female.
Zakiah as a male name
- Ranked #6,434 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (19 births)
Zakiah as a female name
- Ranked #7,925 in 2024
- 14 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (31 births)
Popularity
Zakiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zakiah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 258 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zakiah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zakiah 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 Zakiah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zakiahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Zakiah, while Mississippi, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zakiah
The name Zakiah is of Arabic origin and is derived from the root word "zaka," which means "purity," "righteousness," or "to grow." It is a name that has been used for centuries in Islamic cultures, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.
In Arabic, the name Zakiah is pronounced as "Zah-kee-yah" and is often used as a feminine name. Its masculine counterpart is "Zaki," which shares the same root and meaning. The name is believed to have been inspired by the values of purity and righteousness emphasized in Islamic teachings and the Quran.
While the exact origin of the name Zakiah is not clearly documented, it is believed to have been used as early as the 7th century, during the time of the Prophet Muhammad and the spread of Islam. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been derived from the Arabic word "zakah," which refers to the obligatory charity or alms-giving in Islam, further emphasizing the notion of purity and righteousness associated with the name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Zakiah was Zakiah bint Abi Bakr, who lived in the 7th century and was the daughter of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Islam and a close companion of Prophet Muhammad. She played a significant role in preserving and transmitting the teachings of Islam.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Zakiah, including:
1. Zakiah Daradjat (1929-2013), an Indonesian scholar and author who made significant contributions to the study of Islamic psychology and education.
2. Zakiah Halim (born 1959), a Malaysian singer and actress known for her contributions to the Malaysian entertainment industry.
3. Zakiah al-Ansari (1580-1662), a renowned Islamic scholar and historian from the Ottoman Empire, known for her works on hadith (prophetic traditions) and Islamic jurisprudence.
4. Zakiah Ouihya (born 1977), a Moroccan writer and activist who has advocated for women's rights and social justice in Morocco.
5. Zakiah Talib (1942-2021), a Malaysian actress and singer who was widely regarded as a pioneer in the Malaysian theater and film industry.
The name Zakiah continues to be popular in many parts of the Muslim world, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, as it carries a sense of cultural and religious significance. While its usage may vary across different regions and time periods, the name's association with purity, righteousness, and spiritual growth remains a common theme.
People
Zakiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zakiah 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
Zakiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zakiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 685 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zakiah 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 500,371 US residents.
Is Zakiah a common name?
We classify Zakiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 692 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zakiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zakiah was 2006, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zakiah is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zakiah a female name?
Yes, 66.3% of people registered as Zakiah 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.