Zari
Golden flower blossom in Persian.
Name Census estimates that about 1,424 living Americans carry the first name Zari. It is a predominantly female name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Zari today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zari births was 2022 (119 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zari. 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 Zari with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Zari is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 240,698 Americans
Peak year
2022
119 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2021 SSA rank
#2,377
Tracked since 1990
Census
Zari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,135 people with the first name Zari, which placed it at #11,353 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
#11,353
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,135 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zari is Black at 57.7%. The next largest groups are White (18.9%) and Hispanic (10.8%). 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 Zari 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 Zari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.7% · 655
- White18.9% · 214
- Hispanic or Latino10.8% · 123
- Two or more races8.8% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Zari
Zari leans heavily female at 98.6% of total registrations, but 20 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Zari as a male name
- Ranked #14,050 in 2021
- 5 male births in 2021
- Peak: 2009 (5 births)
Zari as a female name
- Ranked #2,377 in 2024
- 77 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (119 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zari leans strongly female. 1,079 people counted with this name were female (94.8%), compared with 59 male bearers (5.2%).
Popularity
Zari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zari 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 513 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
Zari 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 Zari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Zari, while Oklahoma, Illinois, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zari
The name Zari has its origins in the Persian language and culture, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Persian word "zar," which means "gold" or "golden." This name was likely given to children as a symbol of wealth, beauty, and prosperity.
In ancient Persian literature, the name Zari is mentioned in various texts and poetry. For instance, it appears in the epic poem "Shahnameh" by the renowned poet Ferdowsi, written between 977 and 1010 CE. The name is often associated with characters who embody grace, elegance, and radiance.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Zari can be found in Persian historical records dating back to the Sassanid Empire, which ruled from 224 to 651 CE. During this period, the name was popular among the nobility and upper classes of Persian society.
One of the most famous historical figures bearing the name Zari was Zari Khanum (1583-1631), a Persian princess and the daughter of Shah Abbas I of the Safavid Dynasty. She was known for her intelligence, beauty, and philanthropic efforts, establishing several charitable institutions and patronizing the arts.
Another notable figure was Zari Begum (1612-1659), a Mughal princess and the daughter of Prince Khurram, who later became the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. She was renowned for her literary talents and her patronage of poets and scholars.
In the 19th century, Zari Khanum Ayromlu (1825-1905) was a prominent Iranian poet and calligrapher. Her works were highly acclaimed and contributed significantly to the literary and artistic traditions of her time.
Zari Sarfaraz Husain (1835-1910) was an Indian princess and the daughter of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last ruling Nawab of Awadh. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and her support of educational initiatives for women.
Zari Mushtaq Ahmad (1901-1984) was a renowned Pakistani writer and playwright. She was a pioneer in Urdu literature and played a crucial role in promoting women's rights and education in Pakistan.
Through these historical figures and many others, the name Zari has maintained its presence and significance across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its association with beauty, grace, and cultural richness.
People
Zari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zari 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
Zari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,424 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zari 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 240,698 US residents.
Is Zari a common name?
We classify Zari as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zari most popular?
The single biggest year for Zari was 2022, when 119 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zari is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,135 people with the name Zari, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,353 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 Zari 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 Zari?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zari leans strongly female. 1,079 people counted with this name were female (94.8%), compared with 59 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 Zari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zari is Black at 57.7%. The next largest groups are White (18.9%) and Hispanic (10.8%). 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 Zari most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.7% (655 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 Zari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zari a female name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Zari 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 Zari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zari 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 Zari 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 Americans are named Zari?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.