Zolah
A feminine name of obscure origin, possibly derived from Hebrew.
Name Census estimates that about 65 living Americans carry the first name Zolah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zolah today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zolah births was 2019 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zolah. 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 Zolah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
65
~ 1 in 5,273,144 Americans
Peak year
2019
11 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,575
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Zolah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zolah from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 53 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zolah 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 Zolah 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 Zolah
The name Zolah is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in the southern region of Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq, around 3500-3000 BC. It is derived from the Sumerian word "zola," which means "life" or "living." The name is thought to have been given to children as a symbol of vitality and longevity.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Zolah can be found in cuneiform inscriptions from the city of Uruk, one of the oldest cities in Mesopotamia. These inscriptions date back to around 2500 BC and contain lists of names, including Zolah, which was likely a personal name at the time.
During the Neo-Assyrian period, around 911-609 BC, the name Zolah appears to have been particularly popular among the Assyrian nobility. Several Assyrian kings and princes bore this name, including Zolah I, who ruled from 808-783 BC, and Zolah II, who reigned from 772-755 BC.
In the ancient Hebrew scriptures, there is a reference to a place called "Zolah" in the Book of Joshua, which describes the boundaries of the tribe of Benjamin. Some scholars suggest that this place name may have been derived from the personal name Zolah, indicating that it was a name used among the ancient Israelites as well.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Zolah. One of the earliest was Zolah of Tyre, a Phoenician philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 5th century BC and is credited with introducing the study of mathematics to the Greek world.
Another famous Zolah was Zolah al-Basri, an 8th-century Muslim scholar and theologian from Basra, Iraq. He was known for his teachings on asceticism and his contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence.
In the 12th century, Zolah ibn al-Hasan was a renowned Persian physician and scholar who wrote extensively on medicine, astronomy, and philosophy. His works were widely influential in the Islamic world and were later translated into Latin, contributing to the transmission of knowledge to Europe.
During the Renaissance period, Zolah Boucicault was a French playwright and actor who lived from 1510 to 1572. He is best known for his satirical plays that criticized the social and political conditions of his time.
In more recent history, Zolah Haider was an influential Pakistani politician and activist who played a significant role in the country's independence movement in the 1940s. He served as the first Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and worked tirelessly to promote democratic values and human rights.
People
Zolah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zolah 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
Zolah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zolah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 65 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zolah 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 5,273,144 US residents.
Is Zolah a common name?
We classify Zolah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 65 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zolah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zolah was 2019, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zolah 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 Zolah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zolah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zolah 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 Zolah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zolah 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 Zolah 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 the name Zolah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.