Zinaya
A feminine name of Arabic origin signifying beauty or splendor.
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Zinaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zinaya today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zinaya births was 2024 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zinaya. 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 Zinaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zinaya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
2024
16 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,219
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Zinaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zinaya 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 28 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
Zinaya 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 Zinaya 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 Zinaya
The name Zinaya is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "zinah," which means "adornment" or "beauty." The earliest recorded use of this name can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the Islamic Golden Age, which was a period of significant cultural and intellectual development in the Middle East.
One of the earliest known references to the name Zinaya is found in the works of the renowned Arab poet and scholar, Al-Jahiz, who lived in the 9th century AD. In his writings, he mentioned a woman named Zinaya, who was known for her exceptional beauty and grace.
Throughout the centuries, the name Zinaya has been associated with several notable figures in various fields. One such figure is Zinaya al-Andalusiya, a 10th-century Arab poet and scholar from the Andalusian region of Spain. She was renowned for her poetry and her contributions to the literary and intellectual circles of her time.
Another prominent individual with this name was Zinaya bint al-Hasan al-Zayyat, a 13th-century Arab mathematician and astronomer from Damascus. She is credited with making significant contributions to the field of mathematics and astronomy during the Islamic Golden Age.
In the 14th century, Zinaya al-Harrari was a renowned Sufi mystic and poet from the city of Harran in present-day Turkey. Her poetry and spiritual teachings were widely celebrated and influential during her lifetime.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Zinaya al-Baghdadi was an Iraqi scholar and writer who made significant contributions to the fields of literature and Islamic studies. Her works were widely read and appreciated throughout the Middle East.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Zinaya throughout history. The name continues to be used in various Arabic-speaking regions, carrying with it the connotations of beauty, adornment, and cultural significance.
People
Zinaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zinaya 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
Zinaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zinaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zinaya 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 Zinaya a common name?
We classify Zinaya 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 Zinaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Zinaya was 2024, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zinaya is about 9 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 Zinaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zinaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zinaya 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 Zinaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zinaya 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 Zinaya 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 Zinaya?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.