Zerin
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "golden one".
Name Census estimates that about 34 living Americans carry the first name Zerin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zerin today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zerin births was 2009 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zerin. 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 Zerin with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zerin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
34
~ 1 in 10,081,010 Americans
Peak year
2009
7 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2016 SSA rank
#14,191
Tracked since 2004
Census
Zerin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 159 people with the first name Zerin, which placed it at #43,953 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
#43,953
National first-name rank
People counted
159
159 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zerin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zerin is White at 44.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (39.6%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Zerin 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 Zerin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.7% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander39.6% · 63
- Two or more races5.7% · 9
- Black or African American5.0% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 8
Popularity
Zerin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zerin from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 29 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zerin 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 Zerin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zerin
The given name Zerin has its origins in the Persian language, tracing back to ancient Persia (modern-day Iran) and the surrounding regions. It is believed to derive from the Persian word "zar," which means gold or golden. The name Zerin is a feminine form, sometimes transliterated as Zarin or Zarin.
In Persian culture, names related to precious metals and gems were often given to children, symbolizing beauty, purity, and value. The name Zerin, with its association with gold, carried connotations of radiance, warmth, and elegance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zerin can be found in the Shahnameh, the epic Persian poem written by Ferdowsi in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. In this literary masterpiece, Zerin is mentioned as the name of a character, though details about their role or significance are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zerin. One of the earliest examples is Zerin Dukht Afshar (1648-1711), a Persian princess and the daughter of Shah Safi of the Safavid dynasty. She was known for her literary talents and patronage of the arts.
Another prominent figure was Zerin Taj Begum (1789-1857), a Mughal princess and the wife of Emperor Akbar II. She played an influential role in the court and was known for her philanthropic endeavors.
In the modern era, Zerin Shokri (born 1958) is an Iranian film actress and director who has received numerous accolades for her work in Iranian cinema.
Zerin Daruwalla (born 1935) is an Indian English-language poet and teacher. Her poetry collections, including "Fingerprinting" and "Night Parting," explore themes of identity, memory, and the human condition.
Zerin Huq (born 1974) is a British-Bangladeshi entrepreneur and social activist. She co-founded the Rohingya Women's Development Project, advocating for the rights and empowerment of Rohingya refugees.
While the name Zerin has Persian roots, it has been embraced by various cultures and communities across the globe, carrying with it the symbolism of beauty, radiance, and preciousness.
People
Zerin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zerin 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
Zerin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zerin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 34 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zerin 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 10,081,010 US residents.
Is Zerin a common name?
We classify Zerin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 34 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zerin most popular?
The single biggest year for Zerin was 2009, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zerin is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zerin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 159 people with the name Zerin, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,953 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 Zerin 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 Zerin?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zerin on both sides of the split. Of the 159 people counted with this name, 74 were male (46.5%) and 85 were female (53.5%). 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 Zerin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zerin is White at 44.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (39.6%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Zerin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zerin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.7% (71 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 Zerin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zerin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zerin in the SSA data are male. 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 Zerin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zerin 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 Zerin 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 common is the name Zerin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.