Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2025

Zainab

Meaning a flower in the desert Gender Girl Rank 2025 #810 Trend ↑ Rising 19%

Zaynab, and variant spellings, is an Arabic female given name meaning 'a flower in the desert'.

Rank 2025
#810
among girls · ↑41 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
338
named Zainab · +6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 4,755
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2025
338 babies
All-time total
7,326
#2,015 all-time among girls
First recorded
1957
in Social Security records

Zainab popularity over time

7,326 babies have been named Zainab since 1957, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.060.130.190.2518801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2025Girls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s – – – –
1920s – – – –
1930s – – – –
1940s – – – –
1950s 12 1 – #5,402
1960s – – – –
1970s 47 5 – #5,561
1980s 265 27 +464% #2,970
1990s 777 78 +193% #1,475
2000s 1,699 170 +119% #1,191
2010s 2,720 272 +60% #886
2020s (to 2025) 1,806 301 +11% #810

Where Zainab is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 348 0.22 outside top 500
2027 356 0.22 outside top 500
2028 364 0.23 outside top 500
2029 370 0.23 outside top 500
2030 376 0.23 outside top 500

Where Zainab is most popular

Girls named Zainab per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.190 per 1,000. Strongest in Michigan, New York, and Illinois.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Zainab born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Michigan 118 0.648 +241%
New York 245 0.619 +226%
Illinois 111 0.485 +155%
Maryland 51 0.481 +153%
New Jersey 84 0.465 +145%
Virginia 72 0.422 +122%
Minnesota 37 0.343 +80%
Washington 35 0.242 +27%
Massachusetts 29 0.240 +26%
Georgia 52 0.229 +20%
Ohio 51 0.215 +13%
Connecticut 12 0.206 +9%
Texas 162 0.201 +6%
Pennsylvania 45 0.190 ≈ national
California 133 0.158 -17%
Colorado 14 0.125 -34%
Missouri 15 0.124 -35%
North Carolina 21 0.092 -51%
Florida 34 0.079 -58%
Wisconsin 6 0.058 -69%
Alabama 5 0.053 -72%
Tennessee 8 0.050 -73%
Arizona 5 0.036 -81%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Zainab

Zainab is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #810 in 2025 with 338 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1957, 7,326 American babies have been named Zainab. Its peak came in 2025, when 338 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Zainab stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Zainab?

The median living Zainab is about 12 years old; half are between 6 and 21. An estimated 7,300 people named Zainab are alive in the United States today.

median 12 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Zainab year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 338 #810
2024 319 #851
2023 307 #877
2022 298 #918
2021 280 #944
2020 264 #965
2019 294 #905
2018 280 #950
2017 308 #886
2016 301 #918
2015 288 #945
2014 302 #904
2013 260 #970
2012 247 #1,030
2011 219 #1,122
2010 221 #1,119
2009 212 #1,191
2008 193 #1,294
2007 171 #1,401
2006 178 #1,323
2005 168 #1,318
2004 170 #1,270
2003 154 #1,331
2002 146 #1,337
2001 164 #1,234
2000 143 #1,328
1995 84 #1,745
1990 47 #2,569
1985 27 #3,327
1980 19 #4,146
1975 5 #10,612
1970 – –
1965 – –
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 – –
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Zainab

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Zainab bint Muhammad Eldest daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad 600–629 · Medieval
  2. 2 Zainab Biisheva Bashkir writer (1908–1996) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Zainab, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Zainab?

The median living Zainab is about 12 years old. Half of all living Zainabs are between 6 and 21 years old.

How many people named Zainab are alive today?

An estimated 7,300 people named Zainab are alive in the United States, based on 7,326 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Zainab mean?

Zaynab, and variant spellings, is an Arabic female given name meaning 'a flower in the desert'.

How popular is the name Zainab in 2025?

Zainab ranked #810 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 338 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Zainab?

7,326 babies have been named Zainab in the United States since 1957, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Zainab most popular?

Zainab peaked in 2025, when 338 newborns received the name.

Is Zainab a boy or girl name?

Zainab is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Zainab rising or falling?

Zainab is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Zainab become more popular?

Zainab is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 376 girls named Zainab in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Zainab?

Well-known people named Zainab include Zainab bint Muhammad (companion), Zainab Biisheva (writer).

Names like Zainab

Names that sound and feel close to Zainab: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Zainab with similar names → More names starting with Z →