Zuleyka
Of Arabic origin, meaning "a beautiful long lock of hair".
Name Census estimates that about 1,538 living Americans carry the first name Zuleyka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zuleyka today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zuleyka births was 2015 (126 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zuleyka. 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.
Key insights
- • Zuleyka is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 222,857 Americans
Peak year
2015
126 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,132
Tracked since 1975
Census
Zuleyka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,723 people with the first name Zuleyka, which placed it at #8,415 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
#8,415
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,723 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zuleyka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zuleyka is Hispanic at 97.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Zuleyka 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 Zuleyka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.1% · 1,673
- White1.6% · 28
- Black or African American0.9% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 3
- Two or more races0.2% · 3
Popularity
Zuleyka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zuleyka 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 742 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zuleyka 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 Zuleyka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zuleykas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Zuleyka, while Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 61 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zuleyka
The name Zuleyka has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing back to the medieval period. It is a variant spelling of the name Zuleikha, which is derived from the Arabic word "zulaykhah," meaning "beautiful" or "brilliant one."
During the medieval era, the name Zuleykha became popular in the Islamic world, particularly in regions where Arabic was the dominant language. It is mentioned in various Arabic literary works and religious texts, including the Qur'an, where Zuleykha is portrayed as the wife of the Egyptian nobleman Potiphar.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zuleyka can be found in the writings of the renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi, who lived from 940 to 1020 AD. In his epic poem, the Shahnameh, he mentions a character named Zuleyka, adding to the name's historical significance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zuleyka. One such person was Zuleyka Aref-Adib (1873-1924), an Egyptian feminist and writer who played a pivotal role in advocating for women's rights and education in the early 20th century.
Another prominent figure was Zuleyka Rivero (1908-1962), a Cuban painter and ceramist known for her vibrant and expressive works that captured the essence of her native country. Her contributions to the art world earned her recognition both within Cuba and internationally.
In the realm of literature, Zuleyka Furtak (born 1959) is a contemporary American poet and translator whose works have been widely acclaimed and published in various literary journals and anthologies.
Moving to the field of sports, Zuleyka Rivera (born 1987) is a Puerto Rican track and field athlete who has represented her country in numerous international competitions, including the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
Lastly, Zuleyka Jerrido-Scott (born 1977) is a British actress and presenter known for her roles in various television shows and films, as well as her work as a presenter on the popular children's television series "Blue Peter."
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Zuleyka, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human achievement.
People
Zuleyka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zuleyka 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
Zuleyka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zuleyka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,538 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zuleyka 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 222,857 US residents.
Is Zuleyka a common name?
We classify Zuleyka 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, 1,560 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zuleyka most popular?
The single biggest year for Zuleyka was 2015, when 126 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zuleyka is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zuleyka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,723 people with the name Zuleyka, or 0.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,415 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 Zuleyka 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 Zuleyka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zuleyka appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,731 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Zuleyka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zuleyka is Hispanic at 97.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Zuleyka most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zuleyka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (1,673 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 Zuleyka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zuleyka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zuleyka 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 Zuleyka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zuleyka 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 Zuleyka 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 Zuleyka?
You can see how many people share the name Zuleyka on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.