Zara
Top 1000
About Zara
Zara has multiple origins, but most notably is a variation of Zahrah, a name derived from the Arabic zahrah, meaning "blooming flower." Zara can also be a diminutive of the Bulgarian name Zaharina, a feminine form of the Hebrew Zechariah. Today, Zara is heavily associated with the Spanish fast-fashion empire of the same name.
Zara is an evocative name, often used in early movies and novels for a sultry character from the East — Greta Garbo played one in the 1932 film As You Desire Me. Britain's Princess Anne defied royal convention by giving her daughter the Arabic name in 1981, thus bestowing on Zara instant upper-class status.
One of the first uses of Zara was by William Congreve in his 1697 play The Mourning Bride as the name of an African queen. Zara, Priestess of the Golden Flame, also was a Wonder Woman comic book villain.
Zara can also be spelled Zarah or Zahra, as Chris Rock did for his daughter. The related Zahara is the name of Brad and Angelina's oldest daughter.
Possible downside:the Zara clothing stores now in many malls.
Pronounced ZAR-uh.
As of October 2026, Zara ranked #212 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #201 in 2022, Nameberry popularity #193.
Editor's take: The name Zara is a girl's name of Arabic, Hebrew origin meaning "blooming flower; God remembers".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #420 | 765 | 428.2 |
| 2015 | #402 | 809 | 453.2 |
| 2016 | #319 | 1,023 | 577.3 |
| 2017 | #283 | 1,156 | 669.6 |
| 2018 | #254 | 1,281 | 753.1 |
| 2019 | #239 | 1,321 | 787.1 |
| 2020 | #217 | 1,335 | 825.8 |
| 2021 | #212 | 1,412 | 860.5 |
| 2022 | #201 | 1,438 | 876.8 |
| 2023 | #236 | 1,283 | 799.6 |
| 2024 | #234 | 1,327 | 819 |
| 2025 | #212 | 1,432 | 891 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Zara.
- Maia
- Mira
- Noelle
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- Leila
- Talia
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- Morgan
- Vienna
- Lilah
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- Lilia
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Zara on lists
Famous Zaras
- Zara Turner
British actress
- Zara Dawson
English actress
- Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips Tindall
daughter of Britain's Princess Anne
- Zara Aldana
Filipina celebrity
- Zara Bate
Australian fashion designer
- Zara Frances Cully
American actress
- Zara Leander
Swedish singer and actress
- Zara Dolukhanova
Armenian mezzo,soprano singer
- Zara Maria Larsson
Swedish singer
- Zara Levina
Ukrainian pianist and composer
- Zara Northover
Jamaican shot putter
- Zara Peerzada
Pakistani model
- Zara Sheikh
Pakistani model
- Zara (born Neşe Yılmaz)
Turkish pop,folk singer
- Zarifa "Zara" Pashaevna Mgoyan
Russian pop singer
- (Zara) Layla Kayleigh
English,American actress and TV personality
Zara in pop culture
- Queen Zara
character in "The Secret History of Queen Zara and the Zarazians"
- Zara
character in "The Mourning Bride" by William Congreve
- Zara
character on TV's "Switched at Birth"
- ZARA
Spanish clothing company
- Zara Asker
character in "CHERUB" series by Robert Muchamore
- Zara White
character in "Need" series by Carire Jones
- Zara Amaro
character on TV's "Law and Order: SVU"
- Zara Carmichael
character on British TV series "Doctors"
- Zara Morgan
character on British soap "Hollyoaks"
- Zara
Priestess of the Crimson Flame, villain in DC Comics
- Zara Perkich
character on TV's "Offspring"
- Zara Dearborn
shadowhunter from "The Dark Artifices" trilogy by Cassandra Cçare