Zaren
An Old Germanic name meaning "possessor of success or victory".
Name Census estimates that about 30 living Americans carry the first name Zaren. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zaren today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zaren births was 2014 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zaren. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zaren. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
30
~ 1 in 11,425,145 Americans
Peak year
2014
8 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2015 SSA rank
#14,025
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Zaren: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zaren from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 18 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
Zaren 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 Zaren 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 Zaren
The name Zaren is thought to have its origins in the Persian language, stemming from the word "zar," which means "gold." It is believed to have emerged in ancient Persia, now modern-day Iran, during the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled from around 550 BC to 330 BC.
The name Zaren is closely related to the Persian name "Zarin," which also means "golden" or "made of gold." It is possible that Zaren was an early variant or diminutive form of this name.
In ancient Persian culture, gold was highly revered and associated with wealth, power, and divinity. As such, names derived from words related to gold were often given to children as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zaren can be found in the Shahnameh, a epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. In this work, a character named Zaren is mentioned, although details about their significance are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zaren. One example is Zaren Feroz (1275-1312), a Persian poet and mystic who was a contemporary of the famous poet Rumi. Another is Zaren Mirza (1507-1585), a Persian prince and military leader who served under the Safavid dynasty.
In the 19th century, Zaren Khanom (1805-1878) was a prominent Iranian painter and calligrapher, known for her contributions to the art of miniature painting. She was a respected figure in the court of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, the ruler of Persia at the time.
More recently, Zaren Ghobadi (1932-2022) was an Iranian actress and singer who gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s. She appeared in numerous Iranian films and television shows, earning recognition for her talent and versatility.
Another notable figure is Zaren Khachatrian (1925-1995), an Armenian writer and translator. She played a significant role in introducing Armenian literature to Russian and international audiences through her translations and literary works.
While the name Zaren is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of Persian and Iranian cultural heritage, carrying with it the historical significance and associations with wealth, prosperity, and artistic expression.
People
Zaren + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zaren 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
Zaren: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zaren?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zaren 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 11,425,145 US residents.
Is Zaren a common name?
We classify Zaren as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zaren most popular?
The single biggest year for Zaren was 2014, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zaren 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 Zaren in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zaren a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zaren in the SSA data are male. 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 Zaren still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zaren 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 Zaren 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 named Zaren?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.