Zemirah
A Hebrew feminine name derived from "zemer" meaning "song" or "melody".
Name Census estimates that about 679 living Americans carry the first name Zemirah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zemirah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zemirah births was 2024 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zemirah. 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
679
~ 1 in 504,793 Americans
Peak year
2024
64 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,710
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Zemirah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zemirah 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 360 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zemirah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zemirah 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 Zemirah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zemirahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Zemirah, while New York, North Carolina, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zemirah
The name Zemirah has its roots in the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "zemirah," which means "song" or "melody." The name is believed to have originated during the ancient times when Hebrew was the primary language spoken in the region of Canaan, which is now known as Israel and parts of surrounding areas.
In the Hebrew tradition, the word "zemirah" is associated with religious hymns and spiritual songs. It is often found in the context of Jewish liturgical music and poetry. The name Zemirah was likely given to children in the hope that they would grow up to be skilled in the art of singing praises to God.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zemirah can be found in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. The Talmud mentions a sage named Zemirah ben Hayman, who lived during the 3rd century CE. He was known for his expertise in the Jewish oral tradition and his contribution to the interpretation of religious texts.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Zemirah. One such person was Zemirah Arieli, an Israeli singer and actress who was born in 1931 and passed away in 2012. She was renowned for her performances in classical Hebrew and Yiddish theater productions.
Another prominent figure with the name Zemirah was Zemirah Brownstone, a Canadian artist and painter who lived from 1914 to 2001. Her vibrant and expressive artworks were widely celebrated, and she was recognized as one of the leading figures in the Canadian art scene during the latter half of the 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Zemirah Schindler was an American writer and poet who was born in 1929 and died in 2013. Her works often explored themes of identity, spirituality, and the human experience, earning her critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
Zemirah Mogin was a Russian-born Israeli politician who lived from 1905 to 1995. She was a prominent member of the Israeli Labor Party and served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) for several terms, advocating for women's rights and social welfare initiatives.
While the name Zemirah has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and has been adopted by individuals from various backgrounds and ethnicities throughout history, reflecting the rich diversity of names and their global reach.
People
Zemirah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zemirah 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
Zemirah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zemirah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 679 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zemirah 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 504,793 US residents.
Is Zemirah a common name?
We classify Zemirah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 684 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zemirah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zemirah was 2024, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zemirah is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zemirah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zemirah 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.