Zoriyah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "morning light" or "dawn".
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the first name Zoriyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zoriyah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zoriyah births was 2016 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zoriyah. 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
116
~ 1 in 2,954,779 Americans
Peak year
2016
12 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,650
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Zoriyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zoriyah 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 61 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zoriyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zoriyah 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 Zoriyah 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 Zoriyah
The name Zoriyah is an Arabic name of relatively recent origin, first appearing in the late 20th century. It is derived from the Arabic word "Zor," meaning "brightness" or "radiance." The name is believed to have been created as a fusion of the Arabic names Zahra and Zoya, both of which have similar meanings of "bright" or "shining."
While the exact origins of the name are unclear, it is thought to have gained popularity among Arabic-speaking communities in the Middle East and North Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. The name's popularity then spread to other parts of the world, particularly in Western countries with significant Arab or Muslim populations.
There are no known historical references or famous figures from ancient times bearing the name Zoriyah. However, in recent decades, a few notable individuals have carried this name. One of the earliest recorded examples is Zoriyah Taleb, an Iraqi-American author, and activist born in 1972. Her works focus on promoting cross-cultural understanding and women's rights.
Another prominent figure with this name is Zoriyah Rasheed, a Saudi Arabian artist and calligrapher born in 1985. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and she is known for her contemporary interpretations of traditional Arabic calligraphy.
In the realm of sports, Zoriyah Salman is a Yemeni-American basketball player born in 1990. She played professionally in Europe and Asia and has represented the Yemeni national team in international competitions.
Zoriyah Khan, born in 1988, is a British-Pakistani actress and model who has appeared in several TV shows and films in both the UK and Pakistan.
Lastly, Zoriyah Al-Sudani, born in 1995, is an Iraqi-American entrepreneur and philanthropist. She founded a non-profit organization aimed at empowering women and children in conflict-affected regions.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Zoriyah in recent times, highlighting its growing popularity and usage across various cultures and backgrounds.
People
Zoriyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zoriyah 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
Zoriyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zoriyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 116 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zoriyah 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 2,954,779 US residents.
Is Zoriyah a common name?
We classify Zoriyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 117 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zoriyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zoriyah was 2016, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zoriyah is about 10 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 Zoriyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zoriyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zoriyah 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 Zoriyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zoriyah 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 Zoriyah 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 Zoriyah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.