Zahir
- Gender
- Male
- Meaning
- Sparkling
- Origin
- Arabic
About the Name Zahir
Zahir is an Arabic name meaning "sparkling," "radiant," or "shining," carrying connotations of brilliance and clear, visible light. The word itself suggests something bright and manifest — vivid and impossible to miss — which gives Zahir a striking, uplifting quality and a strong sense of presence. It is a name built around the idea of luminosity, evoking warmth, clarity, and a quiet, confident brightness.
As a given name, Zahir has a crisp, two-syllable sound and a bold, contemporary feel that fits comfortably across many cultures. Its bright meaning and confident Z opening give it real distinction, aligning neatly with the modern appeal of vivid, energetic names that stand out. It reads as strong and optimistic, a name with both substance and sparkle. Recorded variants include Zahur, a closely related spelling that shares its radiant character and meaning.
Zahir first entered the US Social Security top-1000 for boys in 2017 and reached its peak in 2023 at rank #754 with 346 births. It remains an active choice, ranking #755 in 2024 with 339 births, after sitting at #847 in 2022. Across its run it accounts for 2,164 recorded births, marking it as a radiant, modern name with steady recent momentum. It remains a bright, energetic choice with real warmth and a luminous, optimistic spirit.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Zahir
US Popularity History (2017–2025)
Annual US births named Zahir by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2025 with 356 boys named Zahir (boy rank #738 that year).
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
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Where in the US Is Zahir Most Popular?
Average boy-name rank within each state across 2016–2025 SSA records. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's boys-name rankings — a per-capita measure that isn't biased toward large states. For Zahir the strongest states are Connecticut, Georgia, Florida.
Strongest boys-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | #417 | 22 |
| 2 | Georgia | #561 | 169 |
| 3 | Florida | #596 | 224 |
| 4 | Maryland | #621 | 76 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | #625 | 56 |
| 6 | South Carolina | #647 | 20 |
| 7 | Louisiana | #664 | 23 |
| 8 | New York | #668 | 202 |
| 9 | Minnesota | #675 | 25 |
| 10 | New Jersey | #690 | 85 |
Weakest boys-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | #859 | 22 |
| 2 | California | #857 | 115 |
| 3 | Texas | #845 | 213 |
| 4 | Arizona | #839 | 21 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | #819 | 84 |
| 6 | Virginia | #802 | 58 |
| 7 | Illinois | #800 | 80 |
| 8 | North Carolina | #750 | 85 |
| 9 | New Jersey | #690 | 85 |
| 10 | Minnesota | #675 | 25 |
Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. States with fewer than 3 years of data for Zahir in this window are excluded. Births < 5 in a given state-year are suppressed by SSA for privacy.
Variant Forms
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zahur | Swahili Name Meaning "Flower." | Male | African |
Looking for names like Zahir?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Zahir to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Zahir against today's most popular boys-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).