NameRealm
Zia

Zia: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“light; splendor”
Origin
Arabic
Say it
ZEE-uh · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls (91% of all uses)

In Arabic, Zia (Ḍiyāʾ/Ziya) means ‘light’ or ‘splendor’. In Italian, zia is an ordinary word meaning ‘aunt’, not originally a personal name.

Arabic namesItalian namesNames meaning lightShort namesInternational names

How popular is Zia?

202463.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Zia in 2024211

2024 rank#1,195 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 18803,391

Zia is rising: use over the last five years is 1.6× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Zia

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Laylanight · Arabic
  • Lylanight · Arabic
  • Aaliyahexalted, rising · Arabic
  • Amiraprincess; commander · Arabic
  • Lilahnight · Arabic
  • Lilanight · Arabic
  • Nylaattainer; successful · Arabic
  • Zarablooming flower · Arabic

Zia questions

What does the name Zia mean?

Zia means "light; splendor". It comes from Arabic. In Arabic, Zia (Ḍiyāʾ/Ziya) means ‘light’ or ‘splendor’. In Italian, zia is an ordinary word meaning ‘aunt’, not originally a personal name.

Is Zia a boy or girl name?

Zia is mainly a girl's name in US records (91% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Zia?

211 US babies were named Zia in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Zia?

Zia is usually pronounced ZEE-uh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.