Ziya
A masculine Arabic name meaning "light" or "splendor".
Name Census estimates that about 1,776 living Americans carry the first name Ziya. It is a predominantly female name (96.5% of registrations). The average person named Ziya today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ziya births was 2022 (147 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ziya. 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
- • Although Ziya is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 63 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Ziya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 192,992 Americans
Peak year
2022
147 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,688
Tracked since 1999
Gender
Gender distribution for Ziya
Ziya leans heavily female at 96.5% of total registrations, but 63 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ziya as a male name
- Ranked #10,878 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (8 births)
Ziya as a female name
- Ranked #1,688 in 2024
- 121 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (147 births)
Popularity
Ziya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ziya 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 794 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
Ziya 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 Ziya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ziyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Ziya, while Virginia, Missouri, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 41 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ziya
The name Ziya has its roots in the Persian language, originating from the word "ziya" which means light or radiance. It is believed to have been in use as a given name since ancient times in regions where Persian culture and language held sway, such as modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia.
One of the earliest known references to the name Ziya can be found in the famous Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the 10th century AD. In this literary masterpiece, Ziya is mentioned as the name of a character, though little is known about their specific role or significance.
The name gained popularity across the Persian-speaking world during the medieval period, with notable historical figures bearing the name Ziya. One such individual was Ziya al-Din Nakhshabi, a 12th-century Persian scholar and Sufi mystic who authored several works on Islamic philosophy and spirituality.
Another prominent figure was Ziya Pasha, an Ottoman statesman and poet who lived in the 19th century (1825-1880). He served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire and is widely regarded as one of the most influential literary figures of the Tanzimat era, a period of significant reforms in the Ottoman Empire.
In more recent history, Ziya Gökalp (1876-1924) was a Turkish sociologist, writer, and political activist who played a significant role in the ideological foundations of the Republic of Turkey. His ideas on Turkish nationalism and modernization had a lasting impact on the country's political and cultural landscape.
The name Ziya has also been borne by several prominent figures in the arts and sciences. Ziya Fazli (1938-2021) was an acclaimed Afghan poet and writer, celebrated for his contributions to the revival of Afghan literature in the 20th century. Ziya Bunyadov (1923-1997) was an Azerbaijani historian and archeologist, renowned for his research on the history of the Caucasus region and the spread of Islam.
While the name Ziya has its origins in the Persian language and culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and found use in various parts of the world, particularly in regions with historical ties to the Persian cultural sphere or Islamic civilization.
People
Ziya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ziya 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
Ziya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ziya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,776 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ziya 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 192,992 US residents.
Is Ziya a common name?
We classify Ziya as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,790 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ziya most popular?
The single biggest year for Ziya was 2022, when 147 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ziya is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ziya a female name?
Yes, 96.5% of people registered as Ziya 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.