Zia
A feminine Arabic name meaning "light, splendor, brilliance".
Name Census estimates that about 3,354 living Americans carry the first name Zia. It is a predominantly female name (90.8% of registrations). The average person named Zia today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zia births was 2024 (211 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zia. 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 Zia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Zia is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.4K
~ 1 in 102,193 Americans
Peak year
2024
211 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,195
Tracked since 1976
Census
Zia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,340 people with the first name Zia, which placed it at #5,207 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
#5,207
National first-name rank
People counted
3.3K
3,340 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
31.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zia is Asian/Pacific Islander at 31.6%. The next largest groups are White (29.8%) and Black (13.4%). 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 Zia 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 Zia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander31.6% · 1,057
- White29.8% · 995
- Black or African American13.4% · 448
- Hispanic or Latino13.4% · 447
- Two or more races10.8% · 362
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 31
Gender
Gender distribution for Zia
Zia leans heavily female at 90.8% of total registrations, but 311 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Zia as a male name
- Ranked #6,808 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (22 births)
Zia as a female name
- Ranked #1,195 in 2024
- 198 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (198 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zia on both sides of the split. Of the 3,352 people counted with this name, 1,014 were male (30.3%) and 2,338 were female (69.7%).
Popularity
Zia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zia 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 1,443 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zia 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 Zia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. California, Texas, New Mexico recorded the most babies named Zia, while Oklahoma, Indiana, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 67 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zia
The name Zia has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, with roots dating back to the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic word "zia," which means "light" or "radiance." This name was particularly popular among Muslims during the early Islamic era, as it symbolized the spiritual enlightenment and divine guidance sought by believers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zia can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The name is mentioned in reference to the concept of divine illumination and the spiritual path toward enlightenment. This association with religious significance likely contributed to its widespread adoption among Muslim communities across the Middle East and North Africa.
In the historical annals of the Islamic world, several notable figures bore the name Zia. One such individual was Zia al-Din al-Baydawi, a renowned 13th-century Islamic scholar and commentator on the Quran, who was born in 1219 and passed away in 1286. His influential works on Quranic exegesis and jurisprudence had a lasting impact on Islamic scholarship.
Another prominent figure was Zia-ud-Din Barani, an eminent 14th-century historian and political theorist from the Delhi Sultanate. Born in 1285, he served as a court historian and authored several influential works, including the "Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi," which chronicled the reign of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq.
In the realm of arts and literature, Zia Nath Khairullah, a celebrated 19th-century Urdu poet and scholar, left an indelible mark with his poetic compositions and literary contributions. He was born in 1825 and passed away in 1907.
Moving to more recent times, Zia-ul-Haq, a former President of Pakistan, held a significant place in the country's political history. Born in 1924, he served as the sixth President of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in 1988, during which he implemented various policies aimed at Islamization and strengthening the country's military.
Another notable figure was Zia Haider Rahman, a British writer and academic of Bangladeshi descent. Born in 1976, he gained recognition for his critically acclaimed novel "In the Light of What We Know," which explored themes of identity, philosophy, and the complexities of the modern world.
While the name Zia has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has transcended geographical and religious boundaries, becoming a popular name across various communities worldwide. The name's association with light, radiance, and spiritual enlightenment has resonated with diverse cultures, making it a timeless and meaningful choice for countless individuals throughout history.
People
Zia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zia 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
Zia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,354 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zia 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 102,193 US residents.
Is Zia a common name?
We classify Zia as "Rare". It ranks above 95.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,391 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zia most popular?
The single biggest year for Zia was 2024, when 211 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zia is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,340 people with the name Zia, or 1.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,207 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 Zia 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 Zia?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zia on both sides of the split. Of the 3,352 people counted with this name, 1,014 were male (30.3%) and 2,338 were female (69.7%). 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 Zia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zia is Asian/Pacific Islander at 31.6%. The next largest groups are White (29.8%) and Black (13.4%). 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 Zia most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Zia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 31.6% (1,057 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 Zia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zia a female name?
Yes, 90.8% of people registered as Zia 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 Zia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zia 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 Zia 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 Zia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.