Fun Facts About the Name Zairah
- 293 babies named Zairah: U.S. records list 293 babies given the name Zairah from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Zairah Mean?
Zairah is an English spelling of the name usually written Zaira, with a final h added in English-language use. The name is most often explained as coming from Arabic. Two closely related words are cited for it: zāhira (زاهرة), meaning "radiant," "bright," or "blooming," and zahra (زهرة), meaning "flower" or "blossom." The honorific al-Zahra, "the radiant" or "the blossoming one," belongs to Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, which gave this root wide recognition in the Muslim world. Taken literally, the sense is "blossoming" or "radiant"; in European use the name has generally been treated simply as a girl's name, without the descriptive meaning attached.
Not all accounts agree, and the derivation should be treated as probable rather than settled. Some references describe Zaira as an Italian name of uncertain origin, while others give the unrelated meaning "princess" - a gloss that actually belongs to other Arabic-derived names rather than to this root. Because the name entered English both through Italian and through naming traditions that draw on Arabic, more than one path is possible, and the exact route is not securely documented.
Zairah Name History & Origins
The name has a long presence in Italy, where Zaira is a familiar given name. Its best-known literary appearance is Voltaire's tragedy Zaïre (1732), set in a sultan's household; the play was widely translated and staged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. That work is a famous literary use of the form, not the origin of the name, and it should not be confused with the name's earlier documentation.
In Arabic-speaking communities the corresponding names are Zahra and Zahira, both in ordinary use and both tied to the idea of blossoming or radiance. Italian Zaira and its English and South Asian spellings, including Zairah, Zayra, and Zahira, reflect the meeting of Italian naming with Arabic-derived names. The final -h in Zairah is a spelling convention rather than a separate origin; it distinguishes the English form without changing the name.
How Popular is the Name Zairah?
Zairah has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2010. Its best rank was #6,978 in 2014.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,125 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 2024 | #7,924 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #8,037 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2022 | #8,015 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #8,437 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2020 | #8,931 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2019 | #7,325 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 2018 | #10,521 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #7,430 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2016 | #10,092 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #7,602 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #6,978 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #8,567 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2012 | #13,444 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #9,130 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2010 | #7,209 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2009 | #8,045 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2008 | #10,791 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #15,448 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #8,706 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2004 | #11,613 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2003 | #13,820 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2002 | #15,393 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Zairah Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have aspiration and inspiration, hope and guidance. Since you are intuitive and perceptive and you understand human nature. You have the power to achieve. Diplomacy and discretion make you a good mediator. You are inspired, introspective, and have a good understanding of the human heart. You can have the ability to commercialize your artistic talents successfully. You are often a mystery to others and to yourself. You are always reaching for something higher, without exactly knowing what that "higher" is. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Zairah's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Zairah's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.