Fun Facts About the Name Zara
- More than 20 thousand babies named Zara: U.S. records list 20,916 babies given the name Zara from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Zara Mean?
Zara has two main established origins. In Arabic it is a Latin-letter spelling of Zahra (زهرة), "blossom" or "flower," and is related to zahrāʾ (زهراء), "radiant" or "bright." The form al-Zahra, "the radiant," is an epithet of Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, which helped establish Zahra as a common Arabic name; Zara is one of several transliterations (alongside Zahra, Zarah, and Zohra) used when the name is written in English letters. In South Slavic languages, including Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian, Zara is used next to Zora, from the Slavic word for "dawn." These two origins are independent, so they give different literal meanings. The biblical spelling Zara is a separate matter: it is the King James Version form of the Hebrew name Zerah (זרח), from a root meaning "rising" or "shining." English sources sometimes call Zara a variant of Sarah, "princess," but that is a different tradition and is not the source of the Arabic or Slavic name.
Zara Name History & Origins
In English, the spelling Zara has an old biblical use. The King James Version of 1611 gives the name of Judah's son, Zerah, as Zara in the genealogy at Matthew 1:3 ("Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar"). Other English Bibles use Zerah for the same figure. The modern given name, however, mostly follows the Arabic name Zahra and its transliterations; the forms Zahra, Zarah, and Zara have all been used for that same name, so the spelling shifts with the source language and the translator. In Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia, Zara is used alongside the Slavic name Zora. The same spelling, Zara, was also the Italian name of the Adriatic city of Zadar, used while the city was under Venetian and later Italian rule; that place name and the personal name are separate, though they look alike. As a given name in Britain and the United States, Zara is borne by the British equestrian Zara Phillips (later Zara Tindall), born in 1981, the daughter of Princess Anne.
How Popular is the Name Zara?
Zara recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2022. Its best rank was #201 in 2022.
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 | #212 | 1,432 | 0.0891% |
| 2024 | #234 | 1,327 | 0.0823% |
| 2023 | #236 | 1,283 | 0.0801% |
| 2022 | #201 | 1,438 | 0.0877% |
| 2021 | #212 | 1,412 | 0.0861% |
| 2020 | #217 | 1,335 | 0.0826% |
| 2019 | #239 | 1,321 | 0.0787% |
| 2018 | #254 | 1,281 | 0.0753% |
| 2017 | #283 | 1,156 | 0.0670% |
| 2016 | #319 | 1,023 | 0.0577% |
| 2015 | #402 | 809 | 0.0453% |
| 2014 | #420 | 765 | 0.0428% |
| 2013 | #483 | 630 | 0.0359% |
| 2012 | #552 | 537 | 0.0305% |
| 2011 | #635 | 449 | 0.0255% |
| 2010 | #719 | 393 | 0.0221% |
| 2009 | #775 | 367 | 0.0200% |
| 2008 | #782 | 376 | 0.0199% |
| 2007 | #718 | 408 | 0.0212% |
| 2006 | #857 | 312 | 0.0164% |
| 2005 | #924 | 270 | 0.0146% |
| 2004 | #1,230 | 179 | 0.0097% |
| 2003 | #1,034 | 222 | 0.0122% |
| 2002 | #1,344 | 145 | 0.0081% |
| 2001 | #1,355 | 142 | 0.0079% |
| 2000 | #1,517 | 121 | 0.0067% |
| 1999 | #1,538 | 111 | 0.0063% |
| 1998 | #1,761 | 90 | 0.0051% |
| 1997 | #2,043 | 70 | 0.0040% |
| 1996 | #1,825 | 81 | 0.0046% |
| 1995 | #2,124 | 64 | 0.0036% |
| 1994 | #1,928 | 74 | 0.0041% |
| 1993 | #2,450 | 52 | 0.0029% |
| 1992 | #2,611 | 48 | 0.0026% |
| 1991 | #2,419 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 1990 | #2,052 | 66 | 0.0035% |
| 1989 | #2,370 | 50 | 0.0027% |
| 1988 | #2,802 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 1987 | #2,722 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 1986 | #2,227 | 47 | 0.0027% |
| 1985 | #3,005 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 1984 | #3,329 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 1983 | #2,309 | 42 | 0.0025% |
| 1982 | #3,342 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 1981 | #3,250 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1980 | #2,939 | 31 | 0.0019% |
| 1979 | #3,077 | 28 | 0.0017% |
| 1978 | #3,097 | 26 | 0.0017% |
| 1977 | #4,067 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #3,960 | 17 | 0.0012% |
| 1975 | #2,880 | 26 | 0.0018% |
| 1974 | #3,861 | 17 | 0.0012% |
| 1973 | #3,970 | 16 | 0.0011% |
| 1972 | #3,541 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1971 | #4,121 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1970 | #3,432 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1969 | #5,054 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1967 | #7,846 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #6,561 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #5,470 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1963 | #6,584 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #4,861 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1961 | #5,306 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1960 | #5,692 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #7,198 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1958 | #7,028 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1957 | #7,008 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1956 | #3,493 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1955 | #4,372 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1954 | #3,963 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1953 | #4,594 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #4,906 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1950 | #6,104 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #3,609 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1947 | #3,703 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1946 | #3,031 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1945 | #4,553 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1944 | #4,049 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1943 | #4,194 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1942 | #2,665 | 13 | 0.0010% |
| 1940 | #2,734 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1939 | #3,428 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1938 | #2,727 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1937 | #4,250 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1935 | #4,889 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1934 | #3,448 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1933 | #3,403 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1932 | #3,567 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1931 | #4,971 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #3,394 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1928 | #3,162 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1927 | #3,871 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1926 | #3,266 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1925 | #2,615 | 14 | 0.0012% |
| 1924 | #2,972 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1923 | #3,968 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1922 | #3,149 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1921 | #2,629 | 14 | 0.0011% |
| 1920 | #3,091 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1919 | #3,003 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1918 | #3,509 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1917 | #2,877 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1916 | #3,254 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1915 | #1,671 | 21 | 0.0021% |
| 1914 | #2,124 | 12 | 0.0016% |
| 1913 | #2,162 | 10 | 0.0016% |
| 1912 | #1,841 | 11 | 0.0020% |
| 1911 | #1,791 | 9 | 0.0022% |
| 1910 | #1,769 | 9 | 0.0023% |
| 1908 | #1,673 | 8 | 0.0024% |
| 1905 | #1,927 | 6 | 0.0021% |
| 1904 | #1,872 | 6 | 0.0022% |
| 1900 | #1,429 | 9 | 0.0030% |
| 1899 | #1,840 | 5 | 0.0021% |
| 1896 | #1,823 | 5 | 0.0021% |
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 Zara 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 are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Zara's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Zara's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.