Zaida
A Portuguese feminine name derived from Arabic meaning "fortunate maiden".
Name Census estimates that about 3,502 living Americans carry the first name Zaida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zaida today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zaida births was 2011 (114 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zaida. 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 Zaida with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 97,874 Americans
Peak year
2011
114 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,478
Tracked since 1881
Census
Zaida in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,404 people with the first name Zaida, which placed it at #3,316 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,316
National first-name rank
People counted
6.4K
6,404 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
80.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zaida
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zaida is Hispanic at 80.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Black (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Zaida described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Zaida at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino80.0% · 5,124
- White8.4% · 541
- Black or African American5.7% · 362
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 209
- Two or more races2.5% · 158
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
Popularity
Zaida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zaida from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 896 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Zaida remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zaida 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 Zaida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaidas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Zaida, while Virginia, Minnesota, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 95 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zaida
The name Zaida has its roots in Arabic and Spanish cultures, originating in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Arabic word "zayd," which means "increase" or "abundance." The name was particularly popular in medieval Spain during the time of the Moorish rule, when the Arabic language and culture had a significant influence on the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zaida can be found in the 13th-century Spanish literary work "El Cantar de Mio Cid," where it is mentioned as the name of a Moorish princess. This work is considered one of the masterpieces of Spanish literature and provides insight into the cultural exchange between the Christian and Muslim communities during that era.
In the 14th century, Zaida was the name of a Moroccan princess who married the Sultan of Granada, Abu al-Walid Ismail I. This union symbolized the alliance between the two powerful Muslim dynasties of the time and highlighted the name's significance in the Moorish culture.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zaida. One of the earliest recorded examples is Zaida of Seville (1050-1115), a renowned poet and scholar who lived during the golden age of Islamic culture in Spain. Her literary works, written in Arabic, showcased her intellect and contributed to the rich cultural heritage of the time.
Another noteworthy figure was Zaida bint al-Mansur (1020-1047), the daughter of the powerful Caliph Al-Mansur of the Abbasid Caliphate. She was known for her exceptional beauty and intelligence, and her name was celebrated in numerous poetic works of the era.
In the 19th century, Zaida Kodrigez (1835-1914) was a Cuban writer and activist who advocated for women's rights and education. Her literary works, including poetry and essays, shed light on the struggles and aspirations of women during that period.
Zaida Ben-Yusuf (1869-1942) was a prominent Algerian-French painter and sculptor who embraced the modernist art movement. Her works, which often depicted scenes from North African life, were widely acclaimed and can be found in notable museums around the world.
Zaida Mukhi (1900-1975) was an Indian social reformer and activist who fought against the practice of child marriage and advocated for women's education. Her efforts contributed to the enactment of the Child Marriage Restraint Act in British India, which helped raise the legal age of marriage for girls.
While the name Zaida has its origins in the Arabic and Spanish cultures, it has transcended geographical boundaries and continues to be used across various regions and communities, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage and historical significance.
People
Zaida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zaida 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
Zaida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zaida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,502 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zaida 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 97,874 US residents.
Is Zaida a common name?
We classify Zaida as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,871 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zaida most popular?
The single biggest year for Zaida was 2011, when 114 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zaida is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zaida in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,404 people with the name Zaida, or 2.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,316 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Zaida in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Zaida?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zaida appears almost entirely female. Of the 6,404 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Zaida?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zaida is Hispanic at 80.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Black (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Zaida most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zaida in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (5,124 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Zaida in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zaida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zaida 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 Zaida still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zaida 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 Zaida 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.
How common is the name Zaida?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Zaida at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.