Ziana
A feminine Persian name derived from the word "ziyan" meaning lovely or beautiful.
Name Census estimates that about 561 living Americans carry the first name Ziana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ziana today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ziana births was 2021 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ziana. 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 Ziana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
561
~ 1 in 610,970 Americans
Peak year
2021
36 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,773
Tracked since 1994
Census
Ziana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 427 people with the first name Ziana, which placed it at #23,071 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
#23,071
National first-name rank
People counted
427
427 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
38.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ziana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ziana is Black at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.7%). 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 Ziana 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 Ziana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American38.6% · 165
- Hispanic or Latino27.2% · 116
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.7% · 67
- White12.4% · 53
- Two or more races5.6% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Ziana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ziana from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 227 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ziana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ziana 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 Ziana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zianas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Ziana, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ziana
The name Ziana has its roots in the Persian language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is believed to be derived from the Old Persian word "ziya," which means "light" or "radiance." The name was particularly popular among the Zoroastrian community, who revered light as a sacred symbol of divine wisdom and knowledge.
In the ancient Persian tradition, names were often chosen based on their symbolic meanings and auspicious associations. Ziana was seen as a fortunate and auspicious name, representing the hope of a bright and illuminated life for the child bearing it. The name's connection to light also carried connotations of purity, clarity, and enlightenment.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ziana can be found in the ancient Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, composed by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. In the epic, Ziana is mentioned as the name of a beautiful and virtuous princess, reflecting the positive associations and reverence for the name during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ziana. One of the earliest was Ziana, a Persian princess who lived in the 6th century AD during the Sassanid Empire. She was renowned for her intelligence, courage, and advocacy for women's rights, and is celebrated as an important figure in Persian history.
Another famous Ziana was Ziana Banu, a 13th-century Persian poet and mystic who was highly regarded for her spiritual and literary works. Her poetry often explored themes of love, devotion, and the divine, reflecting the cultural and religious influences of her time.
In the 16th century, Ziana Begum was a prominent figure in the Mughal Empire, known for her philanthropic endeavors and patronage of the arts. She was a skilled calligrapher and supported the construction of several notable architectural landmarks, including mosques and educational institutions.
During the 19th century, Ziana Mirza was a renowned Persian painter and artist, celebrated for her intricate miniature paintings and illustrations that captured the rich cultural heritage of her homeland.
In more recent times, Ziana Zain, a 20th-century Afghan writer and activist, has been recognized for her contributions to promoting women's rights and education in Afghanistan. Her literary works and advocacy efforts have left a lasting impact on the country's cultural and social landscape.
People
Ziana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ziana 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
Ziana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ziana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 561 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ziana 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 610,970 US residents.
Is Ziana a common name?
We classify Ziana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 567 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ziana most popular?
The single biggest year for Ziana was 2021, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ziana 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 Ziana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 427 people with the name Ziana, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,071 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 Ziana 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 Ziana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ziana leans strongly female. 420 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 6 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Ziana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ziana is Black at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.7%). 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 Ziana most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ziana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.6% (165 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 Ziana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ziana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ziana 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 Ziana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ziana 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 Ziana 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 called Ziana?
You can see how many Americans are named Ziana on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.