Zara
Zara was given to 1,432 girls in 2025, #212 among girls’ names; 20,930 Americans have been recorded with it since 1896 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 20,400 Americans named Zara and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (98% of everyone recorded); the median is 8 years old and half are between 4 and 14.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Zara by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Zara mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Zara is “a female given name.” Its etymology gives the sense “flower” (زَهْرَة).
Also “a female given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], variant of Sarah.”
A 20th-century variant of Sarah, or explained as Arabic زَهْرَة (zahra, “flower”); given to the daughter of Princess Anne in 1981.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Zara?
#212 among girls’ names, 2025
Zara rose from #402 in 2015 to #212 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.45 to 0.89 per 1,000.
1,441 babies in 2022, the peak
Zara peaked in 2022, when 1,441 girls were given it, #201 among girls’ names. The 1,432 births of 2025 are 99% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,432 | #212 | 0.89 |
| 2024 | 1,333 | #234 | 0.82 |
| 2023 | 1,285 | #236 | 0.80 |
| 2022 | 1,441 | #201 | 0.88 |
| 2021 | 1,413 | #212 | 0.86 |
| 2020 | 1,335 | #217 | 0.83 |
| 2019 | 1,321 | #239 | 0.79 |
| 2018 | 1,282 | #254 | 0.75 |
| 2017 | 1,157 | #283 | 0.67 |
| 2016 | 1,024 | #319 | 0.58 |
Every recorded year (115)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 809 | #402 | 0.45 |
| 2014 | 765 | #421 | 0.43 |
| 2013 | 630 | #484 | 0.36 |
| 2012 | 537 | #552 | 0.30 |
| 2011 | 449 | #635 | 0.26 |
| 2010 | 393 | #719 | 0.22 |
| 2009 | 367 | #775 | 0.20 |
| 2008 | 376 | #782 | 0.20 |
| 2007 | 408 | #718 | 0.21 |
| 2006 | 312 | #857 | 0.16 |
| 2005 | 270 | #924 | 0.15 |
| 2004 | 179 | #1,229 | 0.10 |
| 2003 | 222 | #1,033 | 0.12 |
| 2002 | 145 | #1,343 | 0.08 |
| 2001 | 142 | #1,354 | 0.08 |
| 2000 | 121 | #1,515 | 0.07 |
| 1999 | 111 | #1,536 | 0.06 |
| 1998 | 90 | #1,759 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 70 | #2,041 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 81 | #1,823 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 64 | #2,119 | 0.04 |
| 1994 | 74 | #1,923 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 52 | #2,445 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 48 | #2,606 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 53 | #2,413 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 66 | #2,047 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 50 | #2,365 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 38 | #2,797 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 37 | #2,720 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 47 | #2,226 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 31 | #3,005 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 25 | #3,420 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 42 | #2,308 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 26 | #3,342 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 27 | #3,251 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 31 | #2,939 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 28 | #3,077 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 26 | #3,097 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 18 | #4,067 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 17 | #3,958 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 26 | #2,880 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 17 | #3,861 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 16 | #3,969 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 18 | #3,542 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 15 | #4,119 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 19 | #3,433 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 10 | #5,053 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 5 | #7,845 | under 0.01 |
| 1966 | 6 | #6,560 | under 0.01 |
| 1964 | 8 | #5,469 | under 0.01 |
| 1963 | 6 | #6,585 | under 0.01 |
| 1962 | 9 | #4,860 | under 0.01 |
| 1961 | 8 | #5,304 | under 0.01 |
| 1960 | 7 | #5,691 | under 0.01 |
| 1959 | 5 | #7,196 | under 0.01 |
| 1958 | 5 | #7,026 | under 0.01 |
| 1957 | 5 | #7,006 | under 0.01 |
| 1956 | 13 | #3,491 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 9 | #4,372 | under 0.01 |
| 1954 | 10 | #3,961 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 8 | #4,592 | under 0.01 |
| 1952 | 7 | #4,903 | under 0.01 |
| 1950 | 5 | #6,100 | under 0.01 |
| 1949 | 10 | #3,609 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 10 | #3,701 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 12 | #3,030 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 6 | #4,551 | under 0.01 |
| 1944 | 7 | #4,047 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 7 | #4,193 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 13 | #2,664 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 11 | #2,733 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 8 | #3,426 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 11 | #2,726 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 6 | #4,248 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 5 | #4,887 | under 0.01 |
| 1934 | 8 | #3,446 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 8 | #3,402 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 8 | #3,565 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 5 | #4,970 | under 0.01 |
| 1929 | 9 | #3,391 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 10 | #3,160 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 8 | #3,869 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 10 | #3,265 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 14 | #2,614 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 12 | #2,971 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 8 | #3,967 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 11 | #3,147 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 14 | #2,629 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 11 | #3,091 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 11 | #3,001 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 9 | #3,508 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 11 | #2,876 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 9 | #3,252 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 21 | #1,671 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 12 | #2,124 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 10 | #2,161 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 11 | #1,840 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 9 | #1,791 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 9 | #1,769 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 8 | #1,673 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,926 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,871 | 0.02 |
| 1900 | 9 | #1,428 | 0.03 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,839 | 0.02 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,822 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Zara a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Zara has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 115 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Zara: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Zara, and how old are they?
20,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 98% of the 20,930 Americans ever recorded as Zara. The median Zara alive today is 8 years old; half are between 4 and 14.
The 2020 Census counted 12,764 people named Zara (12,694 women and girls, 70 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 12,609 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 37 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 106 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 237 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 742 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,150 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 15,100 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Zara born?
The states with the most babies named Zara are Texas, California and Florida, with 29% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 167 | #205 | 0.9× |
| California | 141 | #238 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 96 | #193 | 1.1× |
| New York | 89 | #187 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 84 | #123 | 1.0× |
| Virginia | 51 | #159 | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 49 | #233 | 0.7× |
| Georgia | 48 | #222 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 48 | #229 | 0.7× |
| New Jersey | 46 | #178 | 1.4× |
Where Zara is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Zara is most over-represented in District of Columbia: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Zara with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 69,448 babies since 1880, Zara is the most given (30% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,432 of their 3,600 babies (40%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Zara
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Zara and names like it
- Compare Zara and ZariahBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sZara peaked in 2022.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Zara since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Zara: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2022The year the most babies were named Zara.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Zara alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with ZMost given first.