Zamira
An Arabic name meaning "beautiful flower" or "protected by stars".
Name Census estimates that about 1,516 living Americans carry the first name Zamira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zamira today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zamira births was 2024 (138 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zamira. 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 Zamira with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Zamira is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 226,091 Americans
Peak year
2024
138 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,547
Tracked since 1979
Census
Zamira in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,395 people with the first name Zamira, which placed it at #9,805 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
#9,805
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,395 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
45.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zamira
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zamira is Hispanic at 45.7%. The next largest groups are White (20.2%) and Black (17.7%). 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 Zamira 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 Zamira at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino45.7% · 637
- White20.2% · 282
- Black or African American17.7% · 247
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.6% · 120
- Two or more races7.5% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 5
Popularity
Zamira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zamira from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 570 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zamira 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 Zamira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zamiras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Zamira, while Ohio, Michigan, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zamira
The name Zamira is believed to have its origins in the Persian language and culture, dating back several centuries. It is derived from the Persian word "zamir," which means "heart" or "soul." The name is thought to have been first used in the Persian region of modern-day Iran, as well as in parts of Central Asia and the Middle East.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Zamira can be found in Persian literature and poetry from the 10th century AD. During this period, the name was often used as a symbolic representation of love, beauty, and inner essence. It was also associated with qualities such as kindness, compassion, and a pure heart.
In the 12th century, a famous Persian poet and philosopher named Zamira al-Qazwini was born. She was renowned for her deep spiritual insights and her contributions to the field of Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. Her writings and teachings helped to further popularize the name among the Persian-speaking world.
Another notable figure with the name Zamira was a 14th-century Sufi mystic from Central Asia, known as Zamira al-Bukhari. She was revered for her wisdom, piety, and her ability to guide others on the spiritual path. Her teachings and legacy continue to be honored in parts of modern-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
In the 16th century, a Persian princess named Zamira Begum was born into the Safavid dynasty. She was known for her beauty, intelligence, and her love of the arts. Her patronage of artists and poets helped to elevate the cultural and artistic achievements of the Safavid era.
During the 19th century, a renowned Afghan poet and writer named Zamira Khan Khatak gained recognition for her powerful and emotive poetry, which often explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. Her works continue to be studied and celebrated in Afghanistan and surrounding regions.
Throughout its long history, the name Zamira has been associated with grace, inner beauty, and a deep spiritual connection. It has transcended cultural and geographic boundaries, carrying its meaning and significance across various regions and eras.
People
Zamira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zamira 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
Zamira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zamira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,516 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zamira 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 226,091 US residents.
Is Zamira a common name?
We classify Zamira as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,531 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zamira most popular?
The single biggest year for Zamira was 2024, when 138 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zamira is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zamira in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,395 people with the name Zamira, or 0.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,805 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 Zamira 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 Zamira?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zamira appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,391 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Zamira?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zamira is Hispanic at 45.7%. The next largest groups are White (20.2%) and Black (17.7%). 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 Zamira most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zamira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.7% (637 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 Zamira in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zamira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zamira 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 Zamira still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zamira 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 Zamira 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 share the name Zamira?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.