Zala
A feminine name of Slavic origin meaning "wave" or "green meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 230 living Americans carry the first name Zala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zala today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zala births was 2022 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zala. 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 Zala with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
230
~ 1 in 1,490,236 Americans
Peak year
2022
27 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,276
Tracked since 1921
Census
Zala in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 249 people with the first name Zala, which placed it at #33,298 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
#33,298
National first-name rank
People counted
249
249 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
27.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zala
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zala is White at 27.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.3%) and Black (21.7%). 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 Zala 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 Zala at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White27.7% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.3% · 68
- Black or African American21.7% · 54
- Two or more races13.7% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 6
Popularity
Zala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zala from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 109 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
Zala 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 Zala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zalas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zala
The given name Zala finds its origins in the Persian language, with its roots tracing back to the ancient Iranian civilization. The name is derived from the Persian word "zal," which translates to "gold" or "golden." This connection to the precious metal suggests that the name may have initially been associated with wealth, opulence, or high social status.
In the context of Persian mythology, Zal is a prominent figure from the epic poem Shahnameh, written by the celebrated poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century. Zal was a legendary hero known for his exceptional strength and courage, and his story is intertwined with the tales of other iconic characters from Persian folklore.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Zala can be traced back to ancient Persia, where it was used as a personal name for both men and women. However, its usage was more prevalent among the nobility and upper classes, likely due to its association with gold and affluence.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zala. One such person was Zala of Halych (c. 1220 – c. 1265), a Rus' princess who was the daughter of Prince Mstislav the Bold of Galicia–Volhynia. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the region during the 13th century.
Another historical figure with the name Zala was Zala of Poland (c. 1390 – c. 1460), a Polish noblewoman who served as the lady-in-waiting to Queen Sophia of Bavaria. She is remembered for her contributions to the cultural and artistic sphere of the Polish court during the 15th century.
In the realm of literature, Zala Yeghishe Yerazgavortsi (c. 1440 – c. 1510) was an Armenian poet and scholar who lived in the late medieval period. His works, which include religious poems and hymns, are celebrated for their eloquence and spiritual depth.
Moving forward in time, Zala Khan (c. 1640 – c. 1704) was a notable military leader and governor in the Mughal Empire. He played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of Mughal territories during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb.
Lastly, Zala Nusli Wadia (1825 – 1901) was a prominent Parsi businessman and philanthropist from British India. He made significant contributions to the development of the textile industry in Bombay (now Mumbai) and was a patron of various educational and charitable institutions.
People
Zala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zala 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
Zala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 230 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zala 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 1,490,236 US residents.
Is Zala a common name?
We classify Zala as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 244 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zala most popular?
The single biggest year for Zala was 2022, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zala is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zala in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 249 people with the name Zala, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,298 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 Zala 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 Zala?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zala leans strongly female. 237 people counted with this name were female (94.8%), compared with 13 male bearers (5.2%). 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 Zala?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zala is White at 27.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.3%) and Black (21.7%). 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 Zala most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 27.7% (69 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 Zala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zala 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 Zala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zala 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 Zala 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 people are called Zala?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.