Zhariyah
An Arabic name meaning "little flower" or "seed."
Name Census estimates that about 63 living Americans carry the first name Zhariyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zhariyah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zhariyah births was 2009 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zhariyah. 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 Zhariyah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
63
~ 1 in 5,440,545 Americans
Peak year
2009
10 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,632
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Zhariyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zhariyah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 36 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zhariyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zhariyah 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 Zhariyah 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 Zhariyah
The name Zhariyah is a feminine Arabic name derived from the root word "zar," which means "offspring" or "seed." It is believed to have originated in the Middle East during the medieval period, around the 7th to 13th centuries.
Zhariyah is a variation of the more common Arabic name Zariya, which has a similar meaning and is derived from the same root word. The name gained popularity in the Islamic world due to its association with the concept of fertility and the continuation of family lineage, which held great importance in Arab culture.
While there are no specific historical references to the name Zhariyah in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that it was used as a given name during the golden age of the Islamic civilization, when Arabic language and culture flourished across the Middle East and parts of North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Zhariyah can be found in the genealogical records of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled the Islamic world from 750 to 1258 CE. The name appears in the family tree of the renowned Abbasid caliph, Al-Muqtadi (949-1094 CE), who had a daughter named Zhariyah.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Zhariyah. One such person was Zhariyah al-Andalusiya (1048-1129 CE), a renowned female poet and scholar from the Andalusian region of Spain during the height of the Moorish rule.
Another notable figure was Zhariyah bint Al-Rashid (793-842 CE), the daughter of the famous Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, who was known for her scholarly pursuits and patronage of the arts.
In the 13th century, Zhariyah al-Dimashqiya (1220-1288 CE) was a renowned female mystic and Sufi scholar from Damascus, who wrote extensively on spirituality and the Islamic mystical traditions.
During the Ottoman Empire, Zhariyah Hatun (1556-1623 CE) was a prominent figure at the imperial court, serving as the chief consort of Sultan Murad III and the mother of Sultan Mehmed III.
In more recent times, Zhariyah Zabalawi (1899-1981) was an Egyptian feminist and activist who played a significant role in advocating for women's rights and education in the early 20th century.
People
Zhariyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zhariyah 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
Zhariyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zhariyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 63 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zhariyah 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 5,440,545 US residents.
Is Zhariyah a common name?
We classify Zhariyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 63 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zhariyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zhariyah was 2009, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zhariyah is about 11 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 Zhariyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zhariyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zhariyah 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 Zhariyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zhariyah 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 Zhariyah 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 are named Zhariyah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.