Zariyah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "gift from God".
Name Census estimates that about 7,062 living Americans carry the first name Zariyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zariyah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zariyah births was 2022 (505 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zariyah. 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 Zariyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Zariyah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
7.1K
~ 1 in 48,535 Americans
Peak year
2022
505 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#620
Tracked since 1996
Census
Zariyah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,355 people with the first name Zariyah, which placed it at #5,189 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
#5,189
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,355 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
77.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zariyah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zariyah is Black at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.9%) and Two or More Races (8.2%). 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 Zariyah 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 Zariyah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American77.4% · 2,597
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 332
- Two or more races8.2% · 275
- White3.2% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 17
Popularity
Zariyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zariyah 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 3,639 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zariyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zariyah 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 Zariyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zariyahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Zariyah, while West Virginia, Rhode Island, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 161 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zariyah
The name Zariyah finds its origins in the Arabic language and culture, with its roots traceable back to ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "zarra," which means "seed" or "origin." The name is often associated with growth, fertility, and new beginnings.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Zariyah can be found in ancient Islamic texts and scriptures, where it was used to refer to the concept of progeny or offspring. In particular, the name is mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as a reference to the continuity of life through generations.
Throughout history, the name Zariyah has been borne by several notable figures, including Zariyah bint Abi Bakr, a prominent female scholar and hadith narrator who lived in the 7th century CE. She was revered for her knowledge and contribution to the preservation of Islamic traditions.
Another famous bearer of the name was Zariyah al-Hamdani, a 10th-century poet and writer from Yemen. Her literary works, which included poetry and prose, were widely acclaimed and reflected the cultural richness of her era.
In the 12th century, Zariyah al-Baghdadi was a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from Baghdad. She was recognized for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and her contributions to the development of Islamic legal thought.
Moving forward in time, Zariyah Safar was a 19th-century writer and educator from Egypt. She played a significant role in promoting education for girls and advocating for women's rights in the region.
Lastly, Zariyah Zaki was a 20th-century Egyptian writer and journalist who gained recognition for her literary works and her efforts in promoting social reforms. She was born in 1917 and passed away in 2007, leaving behind a rich legacy in the literary and cultural spheres of her time.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have carried the name Zariyah throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Zariyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zariyah 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
Zariyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zariyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,062 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zariyah 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 48,535 US residents.
Is Zariyah a common name?
We classify Zariyah as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,118 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zariyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zariyah was 2022, when 505 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zariyah is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zariyah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,355 people with the name Zariyah, or 1.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,189 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 Zariyah 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 Zariyah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zariyah appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,360 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Zariyah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zariyah is Black at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.9%) and Two or More Races (8.2%). 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 Zariyah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zariyah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.4% (2,597 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 Zariyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zariyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zariyah 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 Zariyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zariyah 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 Zariyah 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 have Zariyah as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.