Zoriah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "radiant light".
Name Census estimates that about 665 living Americans carry the first name Zoriah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zoriah today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zoriah births was 2009 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zoriah. 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
665
~ 1 in 515,420 Americans
Peak year
2009
44 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,757
Tracked since 1996
Census
Zoriah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 447 people with the first name Zoriah, which placed it at #22,320 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#22,320
National first-name rank
People counted
447
447 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
54.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zoriah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoriah is Black at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.6%) and White (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Zoriah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Zoriah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.1% · 242
- Hispanic or Latino24.6% · 110
- White12.1% · 54
- Two or more races8.5% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Zoriah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zoriah 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 264 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zoriah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zoriah 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 Zoriah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zoriahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Zoriah, while Louisiana, Georgia, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zoriah
The name Zoriah has its roots in ancient Hebrew, originating from the word "zor" meaning "stranger" or "foreigner." It is believed to have first appeared in the Middle East during the early Biblical era, around the 6th century BCE. While its exact etymology is unclear, some scholars suggest it may be derived from the Hebrew name Zeriah, which means "ray of light" or "shining."
In ancient texts, the name Zoriah is mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah, a historical book of the Hebrew Bible. It is recorded as the name of one of the leaders who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity in the 5th century BCE. This early reference indicates the name's use among the Jewish community during that time period.
The earliest known figure bearing the name Zoriah was a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 2nd century CE. Zoriah ben Haninah was a respected sage in ancient Israel, known for his wisdom and teachings on the Torah and Jewish law.
Throughout history, the name Zoriah has been used by individuals from various cultural backgrounds, although its prevalence has been relatively limited. In the 16th century, Zoriah Guadagnini was an Italian luthier, renowned for his exceptional craftsmanship in making violins and other stringed instruments.
Another notable figure with the name Zoriah was Zoriah Paulli, a Danish physician and botanist from the 17th century. He made significant contributions to the field of medicine and was one of the pioneers in introducing new plant species to Europe from other parts of the world.
In the 19th century, Zoriah Pasha was a prominent Ottoman statesman and diplomat, serving as the Grand Vizier (Prime Minister) of the Ottoman Empire from 1842 to 1844. He played a crucial role in the Tanzimat reforms, which aimed to modernize the Ottoman state and society.
While the name Zoriah has been relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a unique and intriguing presence, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage and diverse stories from various parts of the world.
People
Zoriah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zoriah 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
Zoriah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zoriah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 665 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zoriah 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 515,420 US residents.
Is Zoriah a common name?
We classify Zoriah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 672 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zoriah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zoriah was 2009, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zoriah is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zoriah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 447 people with the name Zoriah, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,320 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Zoriah in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Zoriah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zoriah leans strongly female. 428 people counted with this name were female (94.9%), compared with 23 male bearers (5.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Zoriah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoriah is Black at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.6%) and White (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Zoriah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zoriah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.1% (242 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Zoriah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zoriah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zoriah 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 Zoriah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zoriah 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 Zoriah 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.
How many people have Zoriah as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Zoriah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.