Zunairah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful flower".
Name Census estimates that about 395 living Americans carry the first name Zunairah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zunairah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zunairah births was 2019 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zunairah. 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 Zunairah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
395
~ 1 in 867,733 Americans
Peak year
2019
33 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,143
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Zunairah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zunairah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 244 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zunairah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zunairah 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 Zunairah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zunairahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zunairah
The name Zunairah has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture. It is believed to have originated in the Middle East region during the medieval period, around the 7th to 13th centuries CE.
Zunairah is derived from the Arabic word "zinah," which means "adornment" or "beauty." The name is often understood to represent grace, elegance, and charm. In some interpretations, it is also associated with the concept of light or radiance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zunairah can be found in the writings of renowned Arab scholars and poets from the Islamic Golden Age. While it is not explicitly mentioned in religious scriptures, the name's connection to beauty and light aligns with the values and teachings of Islam.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Zunairah. Among them is Zunairah bint Ja'far al-Naqibah (born around 845 CE), a respected female scholar and historian from Baghdad who authored works on Islamic jurisprudence and genealogy. Another prominent figure was Zunairah al-Andalusiyah (born circa 1065 CE), a renowned poet and literary figure from the Andalusian region of Spain during the Moorish era.
In the 12th century, Zunairah bint Ahmad al-Hadrami (1128-1200 CE) was a celebrated mystic and Sufi scholar from Yemen, known for her spiritual teachings and contributions to Islamic philosophy. A century later, Zunairah al-Baghdadiyah (1250-1315 CE) was a prominent calligraphist and artist from Baghdad, renowned for her exquisite calligraphic works and illuminated manuscripts.
In more recent times, Zunairah Khair (1920-1998) was a prominent Egyptian writer and novelist, celebrated for her literary works that explored themes of love, identity, and societal issues in the Arab world.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Zunairah throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields such as scholarship, literature, art, and spirituality.
People
Zunairah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zunairah 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
Zunairah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zunairah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 395 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zunairah 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 867,733 US residents.
Is Zunairah a common name?
We classify Zunairah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 398 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zunairah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zunairah was 2019, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zunairah is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Zunairah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zunairah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zunairah 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 Zunairah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zunairah 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 Zunairah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Zunairah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.