Zara
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "blossoming flower".
Name Census estimates that about 18,912 living Americans carry the first name Zara. It sits at #234 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zara today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zara births was 2022 (1,438 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zara. 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 Zara with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Zara 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
19K
~ 1 in 18,124 Americans
Peak year
2022
1,438 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#234
Tracked since 1896
Census
Zara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,769 people with the first name Zara, which placed it at #2,104 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
#2,104
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,769 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
31.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zara is White at 31.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (25.0%) and Black (16.1%). 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 Zara 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 Zara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White31.7% · 4,053
- Asian and Pacific Islander25.0% · 3,197
- Black or African American16.1% · 2,061
- Hispanic or Latino15.3% · 1,956
- Two or more races11.3% · 1,442
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 60
Popularity
Zara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zara from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 8,364 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
Zara 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 Zara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 47 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Zara, while Montana, Maine, West Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 364 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zara
The name Zara originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in the word "zahra," which means "flower" or "blooming." The name is believed to have emerged in the Middle East during the medieval period, around the 7th to 10th centuries.
Zara gained popularity among Muslim communities, particularly in regions where Arabic culture and language had a significant influence. It was often chosen as a name for girls, reflecting the beauty and delicacy associated with flowers.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Zara can be found in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. In the Quran, the name is mentioned as Zarah, which is considered a variant spelling of Zara.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Zara. One of the most famous was Zara Yeats (1868-1924), an Irish playwright and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. She was a prominent figure in the Irish literary revival movement and played a significant role in promoting Irish culture and identity.
Another well-known Zara was Zara Schmiterlöw (1903-1986), a Swedish artist and sculptor known for her modernist works. Her sculptures and paintings were featured in numerous exhibitions and can be found in several museums around the world.
In the realm of music, Zara Dolukhanova (1918-2007) was a renowned mezzo-soprano from Russia. She performed with prestigious opera companies and was celebrated for her powerful and expressive voice.
Zara Blacks (1836-1905), a Native American activist, was a prominent figure in the fight for indigenous rights in the United States. She played a crucial role in advocating for the preservation of Native American culture and land rights.
Zara Alexandrovna (1914-1998), a Russian-born artist, was known for her vibrant abstract paintings and her contributions to the modern art movement in the United States. Her works were exhibited in numerous galleries and museums throughout her career.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Zara throughout history, showcasing its enduring appeal and the diverse backgrounds of those who have borne this name.
People
Zara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zara 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
Zara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18,912 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zara 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 18,124 US residents.
Is Zara a common name?
We classify Zara as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19,484 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zara most popular?
The single biggest year for Zara was 2022, when 1,438 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zara 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 Zara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,769 people with the name Zara, or 4.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,104 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 Zara 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 Zara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zara appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,764 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 Zara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zara is White at 31.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (25.0%) and Black (16.1%). 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 Zara most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 31.7% (4,053 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 Zara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zara 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 Zara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zara 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 Zara 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 Zara?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.