Zuleyma
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful, bright, shining".
Name Census estimates that about 911 living Americans carry the first name Zuleyma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zuleyma today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zuleyma births was 1990 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zuleyma. 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
911
~ 1 in 376,240 Americans
Peak year
1990
49 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,142
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Zuleyma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zuleyma from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 293 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Zuleyma remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zuleyma 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 Zuleyma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zuleymas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Zuleyma, while Florida, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 98 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zuleyma
The given name Zuleyma is of Arabic origin, derived from the name Zulaikha, which in turn comes from the Hebrew name Zillah. It is believed to have emerged around the 7th century CE, during the rise of Islam and the spread of Arabic culture across the Middle East and parts of Africa.
In Arabic tradition, Zulaikha is a prominent figure in the story of Yusuf (Joseph) from the Quran. She was the wife of Al-Aziz, a powerful Egyptian nobleman, who became infatuated with the prophet Yusuf due to his exceptional beauty and virtue. The name Zulaikha is often associated with temptation, desire, and unrequited love in Islamic literature.
The earliest known recorded use of the name Zuleyma dates back to the 9th century CE, when it appeared in various Arabic texts and historical records. One of the earliest notable figures with this name was Zuleyma bint Abi Daud, a renowned poet and scholar who lived in Cordoba, Spain, during the 10th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zuleyma. These include Zuleyma Rosario (1969-), a Puerto Rican actress and television personality, and Zuleyma Rivera (1987-), a Mexican professional boxer and former world champion in the super bantamweight division.
In the realm of literature, Zuleyma is the name of a character in the novel "The Bride of Lammermoor" by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819. The name also appears in the works of several other renowned authors, such as Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Zuleyma Sacur (1922-1995), a Colombian painter and sculptor known for her vibrant and colorful works that celebrated the culture and traditions of her native country.
The name Zuleyma has also been associated with historical figures from other regions, such as Zuleyma Makram (1918-2008), an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the first female minister in the Arab world.
People
Zuleyma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zuleyma 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
Zuleyma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zuleyma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 911 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zuleyma 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 376,240 US residents.
Is Zuleyma a common name?
We classify Zuleyma as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 929 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zuleyma most popular?
The single biggest year for Zuleyma was 1990, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zuleyma is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zuleyma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zuleyma 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.