Fun Facts About the Name Zayra
- More than 1 thousand babies named Zayra: U.S. records list 1,683 babies given the name Zayra from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Zayra Mean?
Zayra is a feminine name most often treated as a spelling variant of Zaira, a name of Arabic origin. It goes back to the Arabic root z-h-r, which carries the ideas of blossoming, flowering, and shining. The Arabic name Zahra (زهرة) means "blossom" or "flower," and the related form Zāhira (زاهرة) means "blooming" or "radiant." The honorific al-Zahrā' (الزهراء), "the radiant one," was applied to Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, and names from this root became widespread in the Muslim world.
The spelling Zayra reflects an English or Spanish transliteration rather than a separate etymology; the -ay- rendering is used in English-speaking and Latin American contexts, where the name is less common than Zahra. The Hebrew name Zohar, from a word meaning "splendor" or "radiance," is sometimes mentioned alongside Zayra, but the two are distinct names and their connection is not established.
Zayra Name History & Origins
Zayra belongs to a group of spellings - Zahra, Zahira, Zaira, Zehra - that all descend from the Arabic root z-h-r. In Arabic-speaking countries Zahra and Zahira are established given names, and Zehra is the common Turkish form. The Italian and Spanish form Zaira spread through southern Europe, and it appears in European literature: Voltaire's tragedy Zaïre (1732) and Bellini's opera Zaira (1829) both use the name. These are literary uses of a name already current in those languages, not its origin.
The spelling Zayra is a later transliteration. The letter y stands in for a long vowel or glide in Arabic and is common in English renderings of Arabic names, so the same name appears as Zaira in Italian and Spanish and Zahra in Arabic. Zayra is used in English-speaking countries, Latin America, and South Asia, where it appears alongside the more common Zahra and Zaira.
How Popular is the Name Zayra?
Zayra 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 2004. Its best rank was #2,194 in 2004.
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 | #3,831 | 39 | 0.0024% |
| 2024 | #3,501 | 45 | 0.0028% |
| 2023 | #4,041 | 37 | 0.0023% |
| 2022 | #3,699 | 42 | 0.0026% |
| 2021 | #3,671 | 42 | 0.0026% |
| 2020 | #4,001 | 36 | 0.0022% |
| 2019 | #3,448 | 46 | 0.0027% |
| 2018 | #4,072 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 2017 | #3,842 | 40 | 0.0023% |
| 2016 | #4,078 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 2015 | #3,840 | 40 | 0.0022% |
| 2014 | #3,998 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 2013 | #2,766 | 63 | 0.0036% |
| 2012 | #3,414 | 48 | 0.0027% |
| 2011 | #2,988 | 58 | 0.0033% |
| 2010 | #2,904 | 60 | 0.0034% |
| 2009 | #3,559 | 46 | 0.0025% |
| 2008 | #3,016 | 58 | 0.0031% |
| 2007 | #2,645 | 70 | 0.0036% |
| 2006 | #2,668 | 68 | 0.0036% |
| 2005 | #2,968 | 55 | 0.0030% |
| 2004 | #2,194 | 82 | 0.0045% |
| 2003 | #2,555 | 64 | 0.0035% |
| 2002 | #2,330 | 70 | 0.0039% |
| 2001 | #2,698 | 56 | 0.0031% |
| 2000 | #3,019 | 47 | 0.0026% |
| 1999 | #2,990 | 45 | 0.0025% |
| 1998 | #2,428 | 58 | 0.0033% |
| 1997 | #3,714 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 1996 | #4,737 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 1995 | #3,584 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 1994 | #4,113 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 1993 | #3,420 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 1992 | #5,265 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1991 | #5,179 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1990 | #6,463 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1989 | #4,521 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1988 | #9,238 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #5,922 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1985 | #9,299 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #10,414 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #9,104 | 7 | 0.0004% |
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 Zayra 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.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Zayra's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Zayra's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.