Ziyad
An Arabic name meaning "increase" or "abundance".
Name Census estimates that about 987 living Americans carry the first name Ziyad. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ziyad today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ziyad births was 2015 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ziyad. 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.
People living today
987
~ 1 in 347,269 Americans
Peak year
2015
58 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,262
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Ziyad: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ziyad from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 443 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ziyad remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ziyad 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 Ziyad during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ziyads live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Ziyad, while New Jersey, Michigan, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ziyad
The name Ziyad has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic root word "zad," which means "to increase" or "to grow." This suggests that the name Ziyad may have been given to children with the wish for them to grow and prosper in life.
Ziyad is a name that has been in use since ancient times in the Arab world. It is mentioned in some early Islamic texts and historical records, indicating its long-standing presence in the region. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Ziyad ibn Abihi, a prominent Arab general and governor who lived in the 7th century during the Umayyad Caliphate.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Ziyad. One such individual was Ziyad ibn Abdur Rahman, a renowned Muslim scholar and poet who lived in the 9th century in present-day Iraq. His works were highly influential in the fields of literature and Islamic jurisprudence.
Another prominent figure was Ziyad al-Naqshbandi, a Sufi mystic and the founder of the Naqshbandi order, one of the major Sufi spiritual orders in the Muslim world. He lived in the 14th century and was instrumental in spreading Sufism throughout Central Asia and the Middle East.
In the realm of science, Ziyad ibn Khalid al-Kinani was a renowned Arabic chemist and philosopher who lived in the 8th century. He made significant contributions to the field of alchemy and is credited with the development of several chemical processes and techniques.
A more recent historical figure with the name Ziyad was Ziyad al-Nakshabandi, an Iraqi political leader and military commander who played a significant role in the Iraqi revolution against British rule in the early 20th century. He was born in 1887 and was a prominent figure in the fight for Iraqi independence.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Ziyad, reflecting its deep roots in the Arabic language and culture, as well as its association with various fields of knowledge and human endeavor.
People
Ziyad + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ziyad 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
Ziyad: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ziyad?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 987 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ziyad 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 347,269 US residents.
Is Ziyad a common name?
We classify Ziyad as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 999 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ziyad most popular?
The single biggest year for Ziyad was 2015, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ziyad is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ziyad a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ziyad 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.
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.