Zayda
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "increase" or "increase in prosperity".
Name Census estimates that about 2,218 living Americans carry the first name Zayda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zayda today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zayda births was 2020 (108 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zayda. 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
- • Zayda is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 154,533 Americans
Peak year
2020
108 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,592
Tracked since 1956
Popularity
Zayda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zayda from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 915 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zayda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zayda 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 Zayda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaydas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Zayda, while Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 48 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zayda
The name Zayda has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "zaid," which means "increase" or "abundance." The name was particularly popular in the Middle East and North Africa during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zayda can be found in the Quran, where it is mentioned as the name of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad. This association with Islamic scripture and tradition likely contributed to its widespread use among Muslim communities.
During the 8th century, a prominent Islamic scholar and poet named Zayda bin Ali bin Husayn al-Alawi lived in present-day Iraq. He was renowned for his contributions to Arabic literature and his expertise in religious studies.
In the 11th century, Zayda bint al-Muʿtadid was a notable princess and poet from the Abbasid caliphate, known for her influential works and her patronage of the arts.
Zayda al-Rumi was a renowned 12th-century Sufi mystic and scholar from Konya, in present-day Turkey. Her writings and teachings on Islamic spirituality were widely influential during her lifetime and continue to be studied today.
In more recent history, Zayda Peña Arjona was a Mexican actress and singer who gained popularity in the mid-20th century for her performances in various films and television shows.
While the name Zayda has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic tradition, it has also been adopted and used in various cultures and communities around the world, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation.
People
Zayda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zayda 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
Zayda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zayda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,218 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zayda 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 154,533 US residents.
Is Zayda a common name?
We classify Zayda as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,246 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zayda most popular?
The single biggest year for Zayda was 2020, when 108 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zayda is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zayda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zayda 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.
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.