Zamyiah
An Arabic feminine name meaning "friend of God".
Name Census estimates that about 121 living Americans carry the first name Zamyiah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zamyiah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zamyiah births was 2008 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zamyiah. 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
121
~ 1 in 2,832,680 Americans
Peak year
2008
12 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,224
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Zamyiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zamyiah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 67 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zamyiah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zamyiah 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 Zamyiah 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 Zamyiah
The name Zamyiah is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, although its precise derivation and meaning remain uncertain. Some scholars suggest that it may be a variation of the name Zamzam, which references the sacred well located within the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This well holds immense significance in Islamic tradition as it provided water to the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ismail during their time in the desert.
While there is limited historical documentation on the name Zamyiah itself, it is worth noting that names with similar roots and sounds have been present in various cultures and time periods. For instance, the name Zamira has been used in Slavic cultures, potentially derived from the Russian word "zamirat," meaning "to freeze" or "to become motionless."
The earliest recorded use of the name Zamyiah is somewhat obscure, as it does not appear to have been widely documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, some historical figures who bore this name or variations of it include Zamyia Al-Andalusi, a 12th-century Andalusian philosopher and mathematician from Spain, and Zamyia Al-Qaramani, a 13th-century Islamic scholar and poet from modern-day Tunisia.
In more recent times, the name Zamyiah has been carried by individuals such as Zamyiah Shakir (born 1979), an American activist and community organizer from Detroit, and Zamyiah Pearson (born 1997), a professional basketball player from the United States who played for the Tulsa Shock in the WNBA.
It is also worth mentioning Zamyia Swain (born 1989), an American entrepreneur and co-founder of the lifestyle brand Freshman Apparel, and Zamyiah Javed (born 1992), a British-Pakistani writer and journalist known for her work on cultural identity and social issues.
While the name Zamyiah may not have a long and well-documented history, its unique sound and potential connections to significant cultural and religious elements have contributed to its enduring appeal across various regions and communities.
People
Zamyiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zamyiah 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
Zamyiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zamyiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 121 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zamyiah 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 2,832,680 US residents.
Is Zamyiah a common name?
We classify Zamyiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 122 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zamyiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zamyiah was 2008, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zamyiah is about 11 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 Zamyiah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zamyiah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zamyiah 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 Zamyiah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zamyiah 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 Zamyiah 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 share the name Zamyiah?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Zamyiah at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.