Zareen
A feminine name of Persian origin meaning "golden" or "adorned with gold".
Name Census estimates that about 265 living Americans carry the first name Zareen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zareen today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zareen births was 2016 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zareen. 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 Zareen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
265
~ 1 in 1,293,413 Americans
Peak year
2016
21 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,396
Tracked since 1979
Census
Zareen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 558 people with the first name Zareen, which placed it at #19,133 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
#19,133
National first-name rank
People counted
558
558 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
80.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zareen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zareen is Asian/Pacific Islander at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.6%) and White (6.5%). 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 Zareen 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 Zareen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander80.5% · 449
- Two or more races6.6% · 37
- White6.5% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 20
- Black or African American2.3% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Zareen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zareen from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 142 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zareen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zareen 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 Zareen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zareens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zareen
The given name Zareen has its origins in the Persian language, where it is derived from the word "zar," meaning gold or golden. This name has been in use since ancient times in regions where Persian culture and influence have been prevalent, including modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zareen can be found in Persian literature, particularly in works of poetry from the 10th and 11th centuries. Poets and writers often used this name as a symbolic representation of beauty, radiance, and purity, likening it to the lustrous qualities of gold.
In the realm of historical figures, Zareen has been borne by several notable individuals. One such example is Zareen Taj, a prominent 16th-century Persian poet and scholar who was renowned for her mastery of the Persian language and her contributions to the literary arts.
Another noteworthy figure bearing this name was Zareen Arshad Khan, a 17th-century military commander and statesman who served under the Mughal Empire in India. He played a significant role in the expansion and consolidation of the empire's territories during his time.
Moving forward in history, Zareen Siddiqui was a 19th-century Indian educator and social reformer who advocated for women's education and worked tirelessly to establish schools and educational institutions for girls in her region.
In the 20th century, Zareen Ara Begum (1900-1977) was a distinguished Pakistani singer and actress who made significant contributions to the music and film industries of the subcontinent. Her melodious voice and captivating performances earned her widespread acclaim and recognition.
Additionally, Zareen Naqvi (1932-2016) was a renowned Pakistani artist and sculptor whose works were celebrated for their unique style and representation of cultural themes. Her art pieces can be found in various galleries and collections around the world.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Zareen throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage associated with this name.
People
Zareen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zareen 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
Zareen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zareen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 265 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zareen 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 1,293,413 US residents.
Is Zareen a common name?
We classify Zareen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 269 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zareen most popular?
The single biggest year for Zareen was 2016, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zareen is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zareen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 558 people with the name Zareen, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,133 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 Zareen 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 Zareen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zareen leans strongly female. 546 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 11 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Zareen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zareen is Asian/Pacific Islander at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.6%) and White (6.5%). 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 Zareen most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Zareen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.5% (449 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 Zareen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zareen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zareen 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 Zareen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zareen 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 Zareen 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 named Zareen?
Find out how many Americans are named Zareen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.