girls' name ★ peaked 2022

Zara

Meaning flower Gender Girl Rank 2025 #212 Trend → Stable

A 20th-century variant of Sarah, or explained as Arabic زَهْرَة (zahra, “flower”); given to the daughter of Princess Anne in 1981.

Rank 2025
#212
among girls · ↑22 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,432
named Zara · +7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,122
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2022
1,441 babies
All-time total
20,930
#1,034 all-time among girls
First recorded
1896
in Social Security records

Zara popularity over time

20,930 babies have been named Zara since 1896, 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
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020Peak 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 10 1 – #1,823
1900s 29 3 +190% #1,429
1910s 112 11 +286% #1,671
1920s 107 11 -4% #2,615
1930s 59 6 -45% #2,727
1940s 76 8 +29% #2,665
1950s 67 7 -12% #3,492
1960s 59 6 -12% #4,861
1970s 200 20 +239% #2,880
1980s 354 35 +77% #2,227
1990s 709 71 +100% #1,538
2000s 2,542 254 +259% #718
2010s 8,367 837 +229% #239
2020s (to 2025) 8,239 1,373 +64% #201

Where Zara 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 1,451 0.90 #208
2027 1,468 0.91 #207
2028 1,482 0.92 #205
2029 1,494 0.93 #204
2030 1,505 0.94 #203

Where Zara is most popular

Girls named Zara per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.851 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Connecticut, and Maryland.

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 Zara 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
District of Columbia 35 2.95 +247%
Connecticut 105 1.80 +112%
Maryland 171 1.61 +90%
Delaware 18 1.59 +86%
New Jersey 285 1.58 +86%
Nevada 72 1.55 +82%
Virginia 247 1.45 +70%
Pennsylvania 325 1.37 +62%
Georgia 269 1.18 +39%
New Mexico 28 1.15 +35%
New York 453 1.14 +34%
Massachusetts 135 1.12 +31%
Illinois 254 1.11 +30%
Florida 468 1.09 +29%
Ohio 250 1.05 +24%
Minnesota 113 1.05 +23%
Rhode Island 13 1.04 +22%
Arizona 145 1.03 +21%
Indiana 144 1.03 +21%
Michigan 184 1.01 +19%
North Carolina 229 1.01 +18%
Oregon 65 0.998 +17%
California 834 0.992 +17%
Utah 79 0.949 +12%
Washington 137 0.948 +11%
Missouri 113 0.938 +10%
Idaho 31 0.926 +9%
Texas 739 0.919 +8%
Arkansas 48 0.908 +7%
South Carolina 80 0.890 +5%
Colorado 98 0.878 ≈ national
Kansas 49 0.849 ≈ national
Iowa 47 0.804 -5%
Kentucky 67 0.783 -8%
Louisiana 68 0.777 -9%
Wisconsin 76 0.738 -13%
North Dakota 9 0.685 -20%
Tennessee 107 0.675 -21%
Oklahoma 49 0.666 -22%
Nebraska 22 0.612 -28%
Hawaii 7 0.611 -28%
Alabama 55 0.586 -31%
Alaska 5 0.581 -32%
Mississippi 18 0.385 -55%
West Virginia 10 0.382 -55%
Montana 5 0.369 -57%
New Hampshire 6 0.325 -62%
Maine – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Zara

Zara is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #212 in 2025 with 1,432 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1896, 20,930 American babies have been named Zara. Its peak came in 2022, when 1,441 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 Zara stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Zara?

The median living Zara is about 7 years old; half are between 3 and 13. An estimated 20 thousand people named Zara are alive in the United States today.

median 7 020406080100

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

Zara year by year

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

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 1,432 #212
2024 1,333 #234
2023 1,285 #236
2022 1,441 #201
2021 1,413 #212
2020 1,335 #217
2019 1,321 #239
2018 1,282 #254
2017 1,157 #283
2016 1,024 #319
2015 809 #402
2014 765 #421
2013 630 #484
2012 537 #552
2011 449 #635
2010 393 #719
2009 367 #775
2008 376 #782
2007 408 #718
2006 312 #857
2005 270 #924
2004 179 #1,230
2003 222 #1,034
2002 145 #1,344
2001 142 #1,355
2000 121 #1,517
1995 64 #2,124
1990 66 #2,052
1985 31 #3,006
1980 31 #2,939
1975 26 #2,880
1970 19 #3,433
1965 – –
1960 7 #5,692
1955 9 #4,373
1950 5 #6,103
1945 6 #4,553
1940 11 #2,734
1935 5 #4,889
1930 – –
1925 14 #2,615
1920 11 #3,091
1915 21 #1,671
1910 9 #1,769
1905 6 #1,927
1900 9 #1,429
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Zara

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

  1. 1 Zara Larsson Zara Larsson Swedish singer and songwriter (born 1997) Contemporary
  2. 2 Zara Tindall Zara Tindall British equestrian (born 1981) Contemporary
  3. 3 Zara Whites Zara Whites Dutch pornographic actress and political activist b. 1968 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Zara Yaqob Zara Yaqob Emperor of Ethiopia from 1434 to 1468 1399–1468 · Medieval
  5. 5 Zara Zara Russian singer (born 1983) Contemporary
  6. 6 Zara Dolukhanova Zara Dolukhanova Soviet and Russian singer (1918–2007) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Zara?

The median living Zara is about 7 years old. Half of all living Zaras are between 3 and 13 years old.

How many people named Zara are alive today?

An estimated 20 thousand people named Zara are alive in the United States, based on 20,930 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Zara mean?

A 20th-century variant of Sarah, or explained as Arabic زَهْرَة (zahra, “flower”); given to the daughter of Princess Anne in 1981.

How popular is the name Zara in 2025?

Zara ranked #212 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,432 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Zara?

20,930 babies have been named Zara in the United States since 1896, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Zara most popular?

Zara peaked in 2022, when 1,441 newborns received the name.

Is Zara a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Zara rising or falling?

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

Will Zara become more popular?

Zara looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,505 girls named Zara in 2030, ranking around #203. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Zara?

Well-known people named Zara include Zara Larsson (singer), Zara Tindall (nobleman), Zara Whites (religious figure).

Names like Zara

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

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