Zoria
A feminine name of Ukrainian origin meaning "dawn" or "sunrise".
Name Census estimates that about 402 living Americans carry the first name Zoria. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zoria today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zoria births was 2000 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zoria. 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.
People living today
402
~ 1 in 852,623 Americans
Peak year
2000
30 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,235
Tracked since 1996
Census
Zoria in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 379 people with the first name Zoria, which placed it at #25,119 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
#25,119
National first-name rank
People counted
379
379 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zoria
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoria is Black at 81.3%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Zoria 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 Zoria at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.3% · 308
- White8.2% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 25
- Two or more races3.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Zoria: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zoria from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 204 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zoria 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 Zoria during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zorias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zoria
The name Zoria has its origins in the Slavic languages, primarily in the East Slavic branch which includes Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian. It is believed to have derived from the Proto-Slavic word "zor'a," meaning "dawn" or "daybreak." This connection to the rising sun and the beginning of a new day has imbued the name with connotations of hope, renewal, and new beginnings.
In the Russian language, the name is spelled "Зоря," while in Ukrainian, it is rendered as "Зоря" or "Зоряна." The name has been in use for centuries, with some of the earliest recorded instances dating back to the Middle Ages. It was particularly prevalent among the nobility and upper classes of Eastern Slavic societies.
Historically, the name Zoria has been associated with several notable figures. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Zoria Dolgorukaya, a 12th-century Russian princess from the Rurik dynasty. Another prominent individual was Zoria Hunanska, a 16th-century Ukrainian noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the cultural and political life of the region.
In the realm of literature, the name Zoria gained prominence through the works of renowned Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. In his poem "Ruslan and Ludmila," Pushkin introduced the character of Zoria, a beautiful and enchanting maiden who embodied the spirit of dawn.
Moving into the 20th century, Zoria Samchenko was a Ukrainian painter and artist known for her vibrant depictions of traditional Ukrainian life and landscapes. Born in 1924, her works have become iconic representations of Ukrainian cultural heritage.
Another notable figure was Zoria Balayan, a Soviet Armenian filmmaker and screenwriter (1938-2021). Her films often explored complex social and psychological themes, earning her critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout her career.
While the name Zoria has its origins in Slavic cultures, it has transcended linguistic and geographic boundaries, with bearers of the name found in various parts of the world. Its enduring symbolism and connection to the dawn have made it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with a rich cultural heritage and positive connotations.
People
Zoria + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zoria 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
Zoria: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zoria?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 402 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zoria 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 852,623 US residents.
Is Zoria a common name?
We classify Zoria as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 408 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zoria most popular?
The single biggest year for Zoria was 2000, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zoria is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zoria in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 379 people with the name Zoria, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,119 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 Zoria 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 Zoria?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zoria appears almost entirely female. Of the 375 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Zoria?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoria is Black at 81.3%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Zoria most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zoria in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (308 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 Zoria in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zoria a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zoria 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 Zoria still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zoria 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 Zoria 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 Zoria?
Find out how many Americans are named Zoria on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.