Zakyah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "intelligent" or "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 199 living Americans carry the first name Zakyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zakyah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zakyah births was 2007 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zakyah. 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
199
~ 1 in 1,722,384 Americans
Peak year
2007
20 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2021 SSA rank
#17,594
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Zakyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zakyah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 96 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zakyah 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 Zakyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zakyah
The name Zakyah is of Arabic origin and is believed to have emerged during the early years of Islam in the 7th century. It is derived from the Arabic root word "zaky," which means "pure," "chaste," or "virtuous." The name Zakyah is often associated with purity, innocence, and righteousness.
In Islamic tradition, the name Zakyah is mentioned in several religious texts, including the Quran and Hadith. It is believed that the name was first given to a female companion of the Prophet Muhammad, who was known for her piety and devotion to the faith.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Zakyah can be found in the works of renowned Islamic scholars and historians, such as Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Hisham, who lived during the 8th and 9th centuries. These scholars often mentioned the names of prominent women in early Islamic history, including those named Zakyah.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zakyah. One of the most famous was Zakyah bint Zubair (d. 710 CE), a renowned scholar and poet from Medina who was highly respected for her knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and Arabic literature.
Another prominent figure was Zakyah al-Baghdadiyah (d. 1030 CE), a renowned scholar and teacher who established one of the first schools for women in Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate.
In the 12th century, Zakyah bint al-Muqaddasi (b. 1130 CE) was a celebrated poet and scholar from Jerusalem who wrote extensively on Islamic mysticism and spirituality.
During the Ottoman Empire, Zakyah Sultan (1470-1520 CE) was a princess and the daughter of Sultan Bayezid II. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for educational institutions.
In more recent times, Zakyah Bashir (1927-2010) was a renowned Pakistani artist and educator who played a significant role in promoting traditional Islamic art and calligraphy in Pakistan.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Zakyah, reflecting its deep-rooted significance and cultural importance within the Islamic tradition.
People
Zakyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zakyah 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
Zakyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zakyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 199 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zakyah 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 1,722,384 US residents.
Is Zakyah a common name?
We classify Zakyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 201 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zakyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zakyah was 2007, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zakyah is about 16 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 Zakyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zakyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zakyah 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 Zakyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zakyah 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 Zakyah 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 Zakyah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.