Zayra
Of Arabic origin, meaning "radiant", "luminous", or "brilliant".
Name Census estimates that about 1,618 living Americans carry the first name Zayra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zayra today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zayra births was 2004 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zayra. 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 Zayra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 211,838 Americans
Peak year
2004
82 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,501
Tracked since 1981
Census
Zayra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,901 people with the first name Zayra, which placed it at #7,833 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
#7,833
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,901 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zayra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zayra is Hispanic at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Black (1.2%). 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 Zayra 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 Zayra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.5% · 1,835
- White1.3% · 24
- Black or African American1.2% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 19
Popularity
Zayra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zayra from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 616 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Zayra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zayra 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 Zayra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zayras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Zayra, while New York, Colorado, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 113 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zayra
The name Zayra has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "zayr," which means "fragrant flower" or "blossoming flower." This name was likely first used in the Middle East and North Africa regions during the medieval period when Arabic culture and language were widespread.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Zayra can be found in the writings of medieval Arab poets and scholars. It was often used as a poetic term to describe the beauty and fragrance of flowers, drawing a parallel to the grace and charm of a woman.
In the 11th century, a famous Arab poet named Al-Mutanabbi wrote a verse praising the beauty of a woman named Zayra, describing her as "a fragrant blossom in the garden of life." This poetic reference helped popularize the name among the Arabic-speaking world during that time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Zayra. One of the earliest was Zayra al-Andalusiya, a renowned poet and scholar from the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal) in the 12th century. She was celebrated for her expertise in Arabic literature and her contributions to the intellectual life of the region.
Another famous Zayra was Zayra bint Ismail, a 13th-century princess from the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of educational institutions.
In the 16th century, Zayra al-Malikiyya was a renowned calligrapher and artist from the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey). Her intricate calligraphic works adorned the walls of mosques and palaces, and her skill was highly praised by her contemporaries.
During the 19th century, Zayra Qasimi was a prominent feminist and educator from the Indian subcontinent. She fought for women's rights and established several schools for girls, promoting education and empowerment for women in her region.
In more recent times, Zayra Alvarez was a Cuban-American writer and activist who lived from 1926 to 2005. She was known for her literary works that explored themes of identity, immigration, and cultural heritage.
While the name Zayra has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has since been adopted and used in various parts of the world, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. However, its meaning and association with fragrance and beauty have remained consistent throughout its historical journey.
People
Zayra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zayra 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
Zayra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zayra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,618 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zayra 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 211,838 US residents.
Is Zayra a common name?
We classify Zayra as "Rare". It ranks above 92.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,644 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zayra most popular?
The single biggest year for Zayra was 2004, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zayra is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zayra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,901 people with the name Zayra, or 0.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,833 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 Zayra 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 Zayra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zayra appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,904 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Zayra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zayra is Hispanic at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Black (1.2%). 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 Zayra most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zayra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (1,835 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 Zayra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zayra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zayra 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 Zayra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zayra 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 Zayra 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 share the name Zayra?
Want to know how many Americans are named Zayra? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.