Zuleikha
A feminine Arabic name derived from "Zalikha" meaning "a woman with beautiful and brilliant hair".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Zuleikha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zuleikha today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zuleikha births was 2017 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zuleikha. 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 Zuleikha. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
2017
6 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2020 SSA rank
#17,505
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Zuleikha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zuleikha 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 16 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zuleikha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zuleikha 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 Zuleikha 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 Zuleikha
The name Zuleikha has its roots in Arabic, derived from the word "zulaykhah," which means "brilliant" or "shining." It is a name with a rich cultural and religious significance, particularly in the Islamic tradition.
According to Islamic literature, Zuleikha was the name of the wife of the Egyptian minister Al-Aziz, who attempted to seduce the prophet Joseph (Yusuf in Arabic) but was ultimately unsuccessful. This story is narrated in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, and has been a subject of numerous interpretations and artistic representations throughout history.
The earliest recorded use of the name Zuleikha can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the rise of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. It gained popularity among Muslim communities and spread to various regions as Islam expanded beyond the Middle East.
One of the most famous historical figures bearing the name Zuleikha was Zuleikha of Samarkand, a renowned poet and mystic who lived in the 12th century CE. Her poetry and spiritual teachings influenced the literary and cultural landscape of Central Asia during that time period.
Another notable Zuleikha was Zuleikha Begum, the wife of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1658 to 1707 CE. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and her support for the arts and architecture during the Mughal era.
In Ottoman history, Zuleikha Sultan was the daughter of Sultan Ahmed I and the wife of Mehmed III, who ruled the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. She played a significant role in the political and cultural affairs of the Ottoman court during her lifetime.
Zuleikha Shihab, born in 1913 in Lebanon, was a prominent writer and feminist activist. Her works focused on women's rights and social issues, and she was a influential figure in the Arab literary and intellectual circles of the 20th century.
Zuleikha Mayat, a South African activist and politician, was a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement. Born in 1904, she dedicated her life to the struggle for equality and human rights, serving as a member of the South African Parliament after the end of apartheid in 1994.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Zuleikha
People
Zuleikha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zuleikha 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
Zuleikha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zuleikha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zuleikha 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Zuleikha a common name?
We classify Zuleikha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zuleikha most popular?
The single biggest year for Zuleikha was 2017, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zuleikha is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zuleikha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zuleikha 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.
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.