Zayra
Feminine
Zayra is a Spanish-language spelling that stands close to two real names: the Arabic Zahra, meaning bright or blossoming, and the literary Zaire from an eighteenth-century French tragedy.
How old is the name Zayra?
Zayra first appears in US birth records in 1981 — 44 years ago. The typical Zayra alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 1,700 people named Zayra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zayra most popular?
Zayra peaked in 2004, reaching #2175 nationally. Today it ranks #3780, 1,605 places below that high. See the whole 2004 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Zayra
Ours, offered as ours. Voltaire's Zaïre was one of the most-performed plays of the eighteenth century, and its heroine's name — taken from an Arabic one — traveled into Spanish, Italian and Russian naming as Zaira. Spanish-language families now write Zayra with the y that Spanish uses for this sound. Whether the modern name came from the play, from the Arabic directly, or from neither is not recorded, and both roads are real.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source is established for this spelling. Arabic zahra, a blossom and brightness, gives Zahra and is documented. Voltaire's tragedy Zaïre of 1732 put that name into European circulation. Neither is confirmed as the source of the modern Spanish-language spelling.
Pronouncing Zayra
ZY-rah
Two syllables, first stressed. Every letter is sounded in Spanish.
Nicknames for Zayra
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1981
- Most girls named
- 200482 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2175reached in 2004
- Change vs 2024
- −13.3%39 in 2025, from 45
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Zayra in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zaira in Spanish — spelling variant
- Zahra in Arabic — related form
- Zaira in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Illinois.
Zayras among us
people named Zayra are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 41,212 born in 2025 was named Zayra
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Zayra
- #3780
- Zayra on the 2025 chart
- #688
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Zayra went to 39 girls in 2025, but Zaira and Zairah are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 279, which makes it the 688th most-given girls’ name of the year — 3,092 places above the chart.
- Zaira224
- Zayra39
- Zairah16
About 1 girl in 5,761 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 41,212 for Zayra itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Reeshemah test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zayra's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Reeshemah climbed just as high around 1971, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Reeshemah's path sketches the road Zayra is walking now.
Zayra sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Zayra is headed
Zayra should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Zayra beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zayra in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The initial Z keeps it distinct on any list.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Spanish speakers read it correctly at first sight.
- Zaira is the standard Spanish spelling and will be offered as a correction.
- Zara, Zahra and Zayra are all close and get confused.
- There is no documented meaning for this spelling.
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What they receive
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Zayra
Feminine · #3780 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zayras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Zayra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Zayra?
- Zayra is one of 3 recorded spellings. Zaira is the more common one — 224 births in 2025 against 39 for Zayra.
- How popular is the name Zayra in 2025?
- Zayra ranks #3780 among US girl names in 2025, with 39 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zayra?
- About 1 in every 41,212 US girls born in 2025 was named Zayra — 39 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zayra with classmates?
- Zayra will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zayra
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kimberlyn#3780 · Jonah#3780 · Aine#3780 · Jakayla#3780 · Shriya#3780 · Analeigh#3780 · Daliyah#3780 · Jamia#3780
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zayra? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zayra and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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