Zyliyah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "shadow" or "shelter".
Name Census estimates that about 25 living Americans carry the first name Zyliyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zyliyah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zyliyah births was 2006 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zyliyah. 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 Zyliyah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
25
~ 1 in 13,710,174 Americans
Peak year
2006
5 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2021 SSA rank
#17,661
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Zyliyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zyliyah 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 15 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zyliyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zyliyah 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 Zyliyah 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 Zyliyah
The name Zyliyah is of Arabic origin, and its roots can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Arabic word "zaliyah," which means "radiant" or "shining." This name was particularly popular in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa during the golden age of Islamic civilization.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zyliyah can be found in a collection of Arabic poetry from the 9th century. The poet, Abu Tammam al-Ta'i, dedicated a verse to a woman named Zyliyah, praising her beauty and grace. This suggests that the name had already gained prominence in that era.
In the 11th century, a renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher, known as Zyliyah al-Andalusi, made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy. Born in Cordoba, Spain, in 1020, she is considered one of the most influential female intellectuals of her time.
During the 13th century, the name Zyliyah was also associated with a prominent Sufi mystic and poet, Zyliyah al-Mawsiliyah. Her works, which focused on spiritual enlightenment and divine love, were widely celebrated and continue to be studied by scholars of Islamic literature.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Zyliyah al-Qadriyah rose to prominence in the Ottoman Empire. She was a skilled calligrapher and artist, renowned for her intricate and beautiful works that adorned the walls of mosques and palaces throughout the empire.
Another historical figure bearing the name Zyliyah was a 17th-century Persian princess, Zyliyah Begum. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of poets and writers, contributing to the cultural renaissance of the Safavid dynasty.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and cultural significance associated with the name Zyliyah, which has been carried by notable individuals across various fields, from literature and philosophy to art and royalty.
People
Zyliyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zyliyah 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
Zyliyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zyliyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zyliyah 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 13,710,174 US residents.
Is Zyliyah a common name?
We classify Zyliyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zyliyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zyliyah was 2006, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zyliyah is about 11 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 Zyliyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zyliyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zyliyah 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 Zyliyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zyliyah 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 Zyliyah 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 share the name Zyliyah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.