Zahra

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A few things about Zahra you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Zahra

Zahra Rahnavard

Iranian academic and politician

Choose Zahra and your child shares a first name with Zahra Rahnavard, an Iranian academic and politician. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Zahra, like who?” Zahra Rahnavard's Wikipedia article is available in 24 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Zahra Rahnavard on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Hamed Saber from Tehran, Iran, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 2,860 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Zahra, 562 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Zahra would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryZahra first shows up in US birth records in 1973, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 52 years since.
• 🏆Best yearZahra is at its all-time high right now: #538 in 2025.
• 📈Then vs nowZahra is 5.6× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 16,077 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 2,860.
• 🚀TrendZahra has climbed 53 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #538. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedZahra is most popular in Virginia, where it ranks #236, followed by New Jersey (#263) and New York (#267). It's in the top 1,000 in 23 states.
• 💬MeaningIn Arabic, Zahra means “radiant, bright”. Our records link it to African, Arabic and Swahili roots.
• 🌍OriginZahra is the #10 most popular African girl name in the US. That's out of 471 African girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Zahra

Zahra is a girl name of African, Arabic and Swahili origin meaning “radiant, bright”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with Z and ending in “-hra”. US birth records list Zahra for girls from 1973 to 2025, in 53 of those 53 years. Its best year was 2025, when it ranked #538 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #538, with 562 babies.

Origin:African namesArabic namesSwahili names