Zakia
A feminine Arabic name meaning "brilliant" or "radiant".
Name Census estimates that about 1,663 living Americans carry the first name Zakia. It is a predominantly female name (99.1% of registrations). The average person named Zakia today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zakia births was 1975 (88 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zakia. 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 Zakia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 206,106 Americans
Peak year
1975
88 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2009 SSA rank
#11,049
Tracked since 1971
Census
Zakia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,458 people with the first name Zakia, which placed it at #6,507 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
#6,507
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,458 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zakia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zakia is Black at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.0%) and White (14.2%). 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 Zakia 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 Zakia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.1% · 1,108
- Asian and Pacific Islander32.0% · 786
- White14.2% · 348
- Two or more races6.1% · 151
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Zakia
Out of the 1,730 babies given the name Zakia since 1880, 99.1% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Zakia as a male name
- Ranked #14,494 in 2009
- 5 male births in 2009
- Peak: 2004 (6 births)
Zakia as a female name
- Ranked #11,049 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1975 (88 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zakia leans strongly female. 2,387 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 75 male bearers (3.0%).
Popularity
Zakia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zakia from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 441 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zakia 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 Zakia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zakias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Zakia, while Washington, Virginia, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zakia
The name Zakia finds its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "zaky," which means pure, chaste, or virtuous. The name is believed to have gained popularity during the early Islamic era, particularly in regions where Arabic was the predominant language.
Zakia was a name traditionally given to girls with the hope that they would embody the qualities of purity and virtue. It was a common practice in Arabic-speaking societies to choose names that reflected desirable traits or religious values.
In the historical context, the name Zakia has been mentioned in various Arabic literary works and religious texts. One notable example is the inclusion of the name in the Hadith, a collection of sayings and traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. This suggests that the name was in use during the early days of Islam.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Zakia can be found in medieval Arabic manuscripts and historical records. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact individuals who bore this name during that time period due to the scarcity of detailed records.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Zakia. One such individual was Zakia Khanum (1805-1876), a prominent Iranian poet and calligrapher during the Qajar dynasty. Her literary works and calligraphic skills were highly acclaimed, and she is considered a significant figure in Persian literature.
Another notable Zakia was Zakia Hosain (1912-2005), an Indian writer and social activist. She was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and was a prominent figure in the women's movement in India. Her novel "Phoenix Fled" is regarded as a classic in English literature from South Asia.
In the field of medicine, Zakia Bari (1950-present) is a renowned Pakistani oncologist and hematologist. She has made significant contributions to cancer research and treatment in Pakistan and has received numerous honors for her work.
Zakia Mashhour (1938-2022) was an Egyptian filmmaker and screenwriter who played a crucial role in shaping the Egyptian cinema during the 20th century. Her films often explored themes of social justice and women's rights, making her a pioneering figure in the Arab world.
Zakia Khudadadi (born 1987) is an Afghan taekwondo athlete who gained international recognition as the first woman to represent Afghanistan in the Paralympic Games. Her participation in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics was a symbol of hope and progress for women's rights in Afghanistan.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Zakia throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage associated with this name.
People
Zakia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zakia 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
Zakia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zakia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,663 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zakia 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 206,106 US residents.
Is Zakia a common name?
We classify Zakia as "Rare". It ranks above 92.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,730 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zakia most popular?
The single biggest year for Zakia was 1975, when 88 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zakia is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zakia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,458 people with the name Zakia, or 0.81 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,507 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 Zakia 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 Zakia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zakia leans strongly female. 2,387 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 75 male bearers (3.0%). 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 Zakia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zakia is Black at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.0%) and White (14.2%). 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 Zakia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zakia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.1% (1,108 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 Zakia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zakia a female name?
Yes, 99.1% of people registered as Zakia 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 Zakia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zakia 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 Zakia 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 many people are named Zakia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.