Zaynah
An Arabic feminine name meaning "beauty" or "adornment".
Name Census estimates that about 916 living Americans carry the first name Zaynah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zaynah today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zaynah births was 2015 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zaynah. 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.
People living today
916
~ 1 in 374,186 Americans
Peak year
2015
44 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,558
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Zaynah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zaynah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 319 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zaynah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zaynah 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 Zaynah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaynahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Zaynah, while New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zaynah
The name Zaynah is of Arabic origin, derived from the root word "zayn," which means "beauty" or "adornment." It is a feminine name that has been used in various parts of the Middle East and North Africa for centuries.
The earliest recorded use of the name Zaynah can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic Golden Age. It is believed that the name was popularized by the influence of Islamic culture and literature, where beauty and grace were celebrated and honored.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Zaynah can be found in the works of renowned Arab poets and writers, who often used the name as a metaphor for elegance and charm. In the famous collection of Arabic poetry, the Mu'allaqat, there are several references to women named Zaynah, celebrating their beauty and virtue.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women who bore the name Zaynah. One of the earliest recorded examples is Zaynah bint Jahsh (594-629 CE), a wife of the Prophet Muhammad and a prominent figure in early Islamic history. Another notable figure was Zaynah al-Baghdadiyyah (814-884 CE), a renowned Iraqi poet and scholar during the Abbasid Caliphate.
In the medieval period, the name Zaynah was also popular among the ruling classes and nobility. Zaynah bint al-Hakam (1019-1107 CE) was a powerful princess and regent in the Taifa of Granada, known for her political acumen and patronage of the arts. Zaynah bint Abi'l-Futuh (1215-1292 CE) was a Syrian princess and scholar who made significant contributions to the field of medicine and literature.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Zaynah continued to be favored among the elite and intellectuals. Zaynah Khatun (1470-1537 CE) was a renowned Ottoman princess and philanthropist, known for her charitable works and support of education. Zaynah al-Ghazzali (1588-1668 CE) was a prominent Sufi mystic and scholar who wrote extensively on spiritual matters and the role of women in Islam.
These are just a few examples of the many notable women throughout history who carried the name Zaynah, a name that has endured for centuries and continues to be cherished for its association with beauty, grace, and elegance.
People
Zaynah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zaynah 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
Zaynah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zaynah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 916 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zaynah 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 374,186 US residents.
Is Zaynah a common name?
We classify Zaynah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 930 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zaynah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zaynah was 2015, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zaynah is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zaynah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zaynah 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.