Zamaya
Of Arabic origin, meaning "life's protection" or "guarded one".
Name Census estimates that about 710 living Americans carry the first name Zamaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zamaya today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zamaya births was 2019 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zamaya. 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
710
~ 1 in 482,753 Americans
Peak year
2019
55 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,130
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Zamaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zamaya 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 357 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zamaya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zamaya 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 Zamaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zamayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Zamaya, while North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zamaya
The name Zamaya has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India, dating back to around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit words "zama" meaning "earth" and "aya" meaning "journey" or "path". The name Zamaya can be interpreted to mean "one who walks the path of the earth" or "one who follows the earthly journey".
In Hindu mythology, the name Zamaya is associated with the goddess Prithvi, the personification of the Earth and the divine mother. The name appears in various sacred texts and ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas, where it is mentioned as a epithet for the Earth goddess.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zamaya dates back to the 7th century CE, when a female Buddhist scholar and poet from the Nalanda University in India, known as Zamaya Devi, gained recognition for her literary works and contributions to the study of Buddhism.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Zamaya:
1. Zamaya Devi (7th century CE), the renowned Buddhist scholar and poet from India mentioned earlier.
2. Zamaya Bhattacharya (14th century CE), a celebrated Sanskrit grammarian and philosopher from Bengal, India, who wrote extensively on the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy.
3. Zamaya Begum (16th century CE), a princess and poet from the Mughal Empire in India, known for her contributions to Urdu literature.
4. Zamaya Chakravarty (19th century CE), an influential social reformer and educator from Bengal, India, who played a significant role in promoting women's education and advocating against societal ills like child marriage and the practice of sati.
5. Zamaya Arya (20th century CE), a prominent Indian freedom fighter and activist who participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule.
The name Zamaya, with its roots in ancient Sanskrit and its association with the Earth goddess, has carried a rich cultural and spiritual significance throughout the ages. While its usage may have evolved over time, the name continues to be a reminder of the timeless connection between humanity and the natural world.
People
Zamaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zamaya 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
Zamaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zamaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 710 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zamaya 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 482,753 US residents.
Is Zamaya a common name?
We classify Zamaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 716 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zamaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Zamaya was 2019, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zamaya is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zamaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zamaya 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.