Girl · #239 in 2026

Zara

Zara is a feminine given name and a surname.

Current Rank
#239
Peak Rank
#201 (2022)
Total Babies
22K
5-Yr Trend
+3%
1896
First Year
2026
Last Year
2022
Peak Year
#201
Peak Rank
22K
Total Count
116
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Zara

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Zara is a feminine given name and a surname.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Zara

Zara first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1896, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2022, when 1,438 Zaras were born — ranking #201 that year. As of 2026, Zara ranks #239 for baby girls with 1,318 births, holding steady (+3%). In total, more than 22K Zaras have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1890s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Names that sound like Zara

Phonetically similar names — useful when Zara is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Zara

What does the name Zara mean?
Zara is a feminine given name and a surname.
How popular is Zara in 2026?
In 2026, Zara ranks #239 among girls' names in the U.S., with 1,318 babies given the name that year.
When was Zara most popular?
Zara reached its peak popularity in 2022, ranking #201 that year with 1,438 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Zara most popular?
Zara has historically been most popular in Delaware, District of Columbia, New Jersey. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Zara.
Is Zara a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Zara is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Zara?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Zara include Scottie, Leigh, Kasey. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Zara

Zara is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1896 and has accumulated 22K births in the dataset. Zara's peak popularity came in 2022 when it ranked #201. Use the chart and map above to compare Zara's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.