Zara: Baby Name of the Day

The baby name Zarahas become a mainstream favorite, a culture-spanning choice with verve.

Thanks to Sophie for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME ZARA MEAN?

It’s really tough to pin down an exact origin or meaning for Zara. That is the name’s strength. It’s a girl’s name that works across culture and time.

Some possible origins of the name Zara include:

• The Arabic Zahrah or Zahra, meaning bloom or flower.
• The Arabic feminine name Zahra means splendor or brilliance. (It’s spelled differently than Zahrah in Arabic.)
• Zahara, made famous by a daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, is related to Zahra or maybe another name on this list.
• Zahira comes from the Arabiczahir – helper.
• It could be a variation of the Biblical name Sarah, which means princess.
• The Old Testament masculine name Zerah, which means shining in Hebrew. There’s also Zohar, which means light. 
• Zara is the Biblical Greek form of the Hebrew verb zarah, meaning to arise. It’s a cousin to Zerah, and also inspiration for the only daughter of Great Britain’s Princess Anne. (More on her in a minute.)
• Zora means dawn in some Slavic languages.
• It’s a diminutive of the Bulgarian name Zaharina, which comes from a feminine form of the Hebrew Zechariah. 
• Zaire is the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Years earlier, Voltaire gave the name Zaire to a character in one of his tragedies. In English, Zaire became Zara. It also became Zaria in Italian. 

Other variations, like Zarina and Zaharina, have also been in use. 

William Congreve used it for the heroine of his 1697 tragedy, The Mourning Bride.

In the early 1700s, Delia Manley wrote stories about Queen Zahra and the Zarazians. 

Gilbert & Sullivan gave the name to a princess in their 1893 musical Utopia, Limited. 

Greta Garbo played a Budapest bar owner named Zara in 1932’s As You Desire Me.

But it took a not-quite royal Zara to push this name into the mainstream in the English-speaking world.

(NOT QUITE) PRINCESS ZARA

In 1981, Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips was born in London. She’s the daughter of Princess Anne, the eldest child of the late Queen Elizabeth II of England.

Royal convention would not have made Zara a princess automatically. That privilege? Still reserved for men. As it happens, the queen offered titles to Anne’s children, but Anne? Opted out. 

While she’s a well-known member of the royal family and 22nd in line to the throne, Zara is officially a commoner.

While the chances of her inheriting the throne are slim, graphic novel V for Vendetta imagined a queen by the name, ruling a dystopian version of the United Kingdom. She’s not a major character, but the 2005 film adaptation was a smash hit.

In real life, Zara is an accomplished equestrian, representing Great Britain in international competition, and winning a silver medal in 2012. She and husband Mike Tindall, a retired rugby player, are the parents of Mia Grace, Lena Elizabeth, and Lucas Philip.

Back to 1981. Where did Princess Anne find inspiration for her daughter’s unusual name? Apparently, from King Charles, Anne’s brother. He visited her in the hospital, and suggested the name. Charles’ inspiration came from the Greek.

MORE FAMOUS PEOPLE NAMED ZARA

Besides Zara Tindall, and those fictional Zaras from an earlier era, there’s also:

• Swedish singer Zara Larsson
• Actress Zara Turner, of Northern Ireland
• Actress Zara Cully played Mother Jefferson on television’s The Jeffersons in the 1970s.

It’s also a place name in Croatia, Turkey, Eritrea, Iraq, and Tibet. There’s a Zaria in Nigeria.

As for Spanish clothing retailer Zara, it’s said that founder Amancio Ortega planned to name his first store Zorba – as in Zorba the Greek. But their first store was set to open in La Coruña, Galicia, back in 1975 – right down the street from a bar called Zorba’s.

To avoid confusion, Ortega made a list minute change to Zara instead. The fast-fashion empire now includes nearly 3,000 stores on six continents.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME ZARA?

The first name Zara has been used in small numbers for girls born in the US as far back as the 1890s. 

But it was quite rare for years. Even after notable figures like Princess Anne’s daughter made the name more familiar, Zara failed to crack the US Top 1000. 

And then, in 2005, the baby name Zara debuted in the US Top 1000 at #924. Credit to two factors: first, V for Vendetta reminded the world about the royal. Second, Zoe ranked in the US Top 100, with Zoey gaining fast. It was a good moment for a Z name, particularly one that sounded like classic Sarah. 

And it’s worth noting that pan-global names have gained steadily in the 21st century.

As of 2023, the baby name Zara ranks #236 in the United States. It’s popular elsewhere in the English-speaking world, too, including England and Wales, Scotland, Canada, and Australia. It’s also heard across Europe, in places like the Netherlands, as well as Slovenia, Slovakia, and more.

A VERY 21ST CENTURY CHOICE

The baby name Zara combines so many appealing characteristics. It’s straightforward, but still effortlessly international. It feels modern but offers a rich history, too. It’s a sparkier take on Sarah, a more restrained alternative to Zariyah.

Would you consider the baby name Zara for a daughter?

This post was originally published on June 4, 2009. It was substantially revised and re-posted on May 16, 2016 and again on February 3, 2025.