Zoraida
Feminine
Cervantes gave this name to a woman who escapes. In the Captive's Tale, one of the stories folded into the first part of Don Quixote, Zoraida is the daughter of a wealthy Algerian who arranges her own rescue — and the tale is generally read as drawing on the years Cervantes himself spent as a captive in Algiers. The name has been Spanish ever since.
How old is the name Zoraida?
Zoraida first appears in US birth records in 1918 — 107 years ago. The typical Zoraida alive today was born around 1973, making them about 52 years old. About 1,900 people named Zoraida are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zoraida most popular?
Zoraida peaked in 1966, reaching #1403 nationally. Today it ranks #13208, 11,805 places below that high. See the whole 1966 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Zurayda to Zoraida
The story of Zoraida
Cervantes was captured by corsairs in 1575 and held in Algiers for five years before being ransomed, and the experience runs through his work. The Captive's Tale is the most direct treatment of it, and Zoraida is its central figure. The name existed in Spanish before he wrote, but the book fixed it, and it has been used steadily across Spain and Latin America since. American records carry it from 1918, peaking in the mid-1960s, and it is strongest among Puerto Rican and Dominican families.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
The name is Arabic in origin and its derivation is disputed. The readings offered include a connection to a word for a captivating woman and to zurayda, a diminutive of a word for a flower bud or a pearl. None is established. What is certain is that it reached Spanish from Arabic during or shortly after the centuries of Muslim rule.
How the name formed
- Zurayda
- Zoraida
Related forms: Zoraida · Zurayda · Zoraide
Pronouncing Zoraida
soh-RYE-dah
Three syllables, stress in the middle, with the middle vowel said as the i in ride. Spanish says the z as an s in the Americas and as a th in Spain.
Nicknames for Zoraida
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
- 1918
- Most girls named
- 196162 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1403reached in 1966
- Change vs 2023
- −45.5%6 in 2025, from 11
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.
Zoraida in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zoraida in Spanish — same name
- Zurayda in Arabic — related form
- Zoraide in Portuguese — same name
Zoraidas among us
people named Zoraida are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 267,878 born in 2025 was named Zoraida
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Maryland test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zoraida's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Maryland climbed just as high around 1927, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Maryland's path sketches the road Zoraida is walking now.
Zoraida 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
Zoraida beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zoraida in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It has a documented literary origin in one of the founding novels of European fiction.
- Zora and Ida are both available and belong to different worlds.
- Three open syllables that survive any accent intact.
- It is standard in Spanish rather than an American variation.
- Its meaning cannot be given cleanly, since the Arabic source is disputed.
- Zoraida, Zoraya and Soraida all appear, so the spelling has to be given.
- It belongs to an older generation in America and carries that flavor.
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What they receive
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Zoraida
Feminine · #13208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zoraidas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Zoraida are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zoraida in 2025?
- Zoraida ranks #13208 among US girl names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zoraida?
- About 1 in every 267,878 US girls born in 2025 was named Zoraida — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zoraida with classmates?
- Zoraida will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zoraida
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
John#13208 · Vinnie#13208 · Margery#13208 · Jossie#13208 · Tressa#13208 · Erie#13208 · Bernadine#13208 · Euna#13208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zoraida? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zoraida and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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