Zeyla
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "shady" or "shaded".
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Zeyla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zeyla today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zeyla births was 2019 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zeyla. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zeyla. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
2019
10 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,231
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Zeyla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zeyla from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 29 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zeyla 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 Zeyla 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 Zeyla
The name Zeyla is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language. It is derived from the Arabic word "zeyl," which means "shadow" or "train" (as in a dress train). The name likely emerged in the Middle East during the Middle Ages, around the 7th to 13th centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the name Zeyla can be found in the writings of the renowned Persian poet and philosopher, Rumi (1207-1273). In his poetry, Rumi used the name Zeyla as a metaphor for the human soul, describing it as a "shadow" or "train" that follows the body.
In the 13th century, there was a notable Sufi mystic named Zeyla al-Din (1212-1292) who hailed from the city of Konya, located in present-day Turkey. He was known for his teachings on the spiritual path and the importance of self-knowledge.
During the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over parts of the Middle East and North Africa from the 14th to the early 20th centuries, the name Zeyla was sometimes given to girls born in the shadows of mosques or during the night hours.
Another historical figure who bore the name Zeyla was Zeyla bint al-Husayn (1548-1619), a prominent female scholar and poet from the city of Mecca. She was renowned for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her contributions to the literary arts.
In the 18th century, there was a famous Ottoman calligrapher named Zeyla Mustafa Efendi (1718-1786) who was renowned for his mastery of the intricate art of Arabic calligraphy. His works adorned many mosques and palaces throughout the Ottoman Empire.
While the name Zeyla may have had its roots in the Arabic language, it has been adopted and adapted by various cultures over the centuries, often taking on slightly different spellings or variations in pronunciation.
People
Zeyla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zeyla 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
Zeyla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zeyla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zeyla 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 5,355,537 US residents.
Is Zeyla a common name?
We classify Zeyla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 64 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zeyla most popular?
The single biggest year for Zeyla was 2019, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zeyla is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Zeyla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zeyla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zeyla 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 Zeyla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zeyla 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 Zeyla 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Zeyla as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Zeyla on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.