Zubaidah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "delicate" or "fragrant".
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Zubaidah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zubaidah today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zubaidah births was 1973 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zubaidah. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Zubaidah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zubaidah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1973
5 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2015 SSA rank
#19,115
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Zubaidah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zubaidah from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 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
Zubaidah 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 Zubaidah 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 Zubaidah
The name Zubaidah is of Arabic origin and has its roots in the Arabic language. It is derived from the word "zabdah," which means "butter" or "cream." This name is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula during the 7th century AD, coinciding with the rise of Islam and the spread of the Arabic language.
One of the earliest known references to the name Zubaidah can be found in the Islamic holy book, the Quran. It is mentioned as the name of a servant of the Prophet Muhammad's wife, Khadijah. This early mention suggests that the name was already in use during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, who lived from 570 to 632 AD.
The name gained greater prominence during the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled from 750 to 1258 AD. One of the most famous historical figures with this name was Zubaidah bint Jafar, the wife of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who ruled from 786 to 809 AD. She was known for her intelligence, piety, and charitable works, and her name became associated with refinement and nobility.
Another notable Zubaidah in history was Zubaidah bint al-Kasim, who lived during the 9th century AD. She was a renowned scholar and poet, and her works are still studied and celebrated in the Arabic literary tradition.
In the 10th century, Zubaidah al-Asturlabiya was a famous astronomer and mathematician from Baghdad. She made significant contributions to the field of astrolabe-making, which was an important tool for navigation and timekeeping at the time.
Moving forward in time, Zubaidah Jalal was a prominent Sufi mystic and poet who lived in India during the 16th century. Her poetic works, which often explored themes of divine love and spiritual enlightenment, have left a lasting impact on the Sufi tradition.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Zubaidah. While the name has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has transcended geographical and religious boundaries, becoming a beautiful and timeless name that has graced the lives of remarkable women across various cultures and eras.
People
Zubaidah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zubaidah 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
Zubaidah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zubaidah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zubaidah 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Zubaidah a common name?
We classify Zubaidah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zubaidah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zubaidah was 1973, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zubaidah is about 32 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 Zubaidah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zubaidah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zubaidah 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 Zubaidah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zubaidah 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 Zubaidah 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 Americans are named Zubaidah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.