Zahir
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- ZAH-heer
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,087 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #738 for boys
Zahir is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “manifest, evident”. In 2025 it ranked 2,087th for boys in the UK (12 babies) and 738th for boys in the US (356 babies).
What does Zahir mean?
Arabic
“manifest, evident”
Al-Zahir, 'the Manifest', is one of the 99 names of God; the Mughal founder Babur's full name was Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Zahir a girl's or a boy's name?
Zahir is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 12 boys in the UK and 356 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Zahir in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,087th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 12 about 1 in 25,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 78% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 12 boys in the UK were named Zahir, making it the 2,087th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,108th. Its busiest year was 2014, with 22 boys.
2025 had fewer boys named Zahir than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Zahir in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,011th in England and Wales.
Zahir in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #2,087 |
| 2024 | 21 | #1,355 |
| 2023 | 15 | #1,715 |
| 2022 | 18 | #1,501 |
| 2021 | 15 | #1,686 |
| 2020 | 6 | #3,108 |
| 2019 | 10 | #2,231 |
| 2018 | 11 | #2,088 |
| 2017 | 13 | #1,922 |
| 2016 | 17 | #1,591 |
| 2015 | 10 | #2,260 |
| 2014 | 22 | #1,260 |
| 2013 | 10 | #2,176 |
| 2012 | 9 | #2,382 |
| 2011 | 17 | #1,489 |
| 2010 | 13 | #1,805 |
| 2009 | 11 | #1,959 |
| 2008 | 12 | #1,810 |
| 2007 | 16 | #1,458 |
| 2006 | 12 | #1,640 |
| 2005 | 12 | #1,599 |
| 2004 | 11 | #1,583 |
| 2003 | 14 | #1,272 |
| 2002 | 8 | #1,728 |
| 2001 | 7 | #1,833 |
| 2000 | 7 | #1,775 |
| 1999 | 5 | #2,184 |
| 1998 | 5 | #2,170 |
| 1997 | 6 | #1,853 |
How popular is Zahir in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 738th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 356 about 1 in 4,800 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 49% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 356 boys in the US were named Zahir, making it the 738th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 886th. It first appears in the records in 1973.
2025 had the most boys named Zahir of any year since it first appeared, in 1973.
Half of all the boys named Zahir in the US since 1880 were born between 2009 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 370 boys in the US were given Zahir or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #678, up from #738 for this spelling alone.
- Zahir 356
- Zaahir 14
Zahir in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 356 | #738 |
| 2024 | 341 | #749 |
| 2023 | 346 | #752 |
| 2022 | 288 | #846 |
| 2021 | 276 | #852 |
| 2020 | 255 | #886 |
| 2019 | 233 | #935 |
| 2018 | 213 | #975 |
| 2017 | 216 | #961 |
| 2016 | 178 | #1,102 |
| 2015 | 153 | #1,205 |
| 2014 | 172 | #1,110 |
| 2013 | 137 | #1,269 |
| 2012 | 136 | #1,285 |
| 2011 | 114 | #1,440 |
| 2010 | 139 | #1,256 |
| 2009 | 119 | #1,413 |
| 2008 | 116 | #1,436 |
| 2007 | 139 | #1,263 |
| 2006 | 108 | #1,438 |
| 2005 | 95 | #1,505 |
| 2004 | 75 | #1,698 |
| 2003 | 75 | #1,653 |
| 2002 | 62 | #1,829 |
| 2001 | 59 | #1,867 |
| 2000 | 61 | #1,778 |
| 1999 | 57 | #1,760 |
| 1998 | 33 | #2,549 |
| 1997 | 38 | #2,225 |
| 1996 | 19 | #3,543 |
| 1995 | 17 | #3,687 |
| 1994 | 19 | #3,463 |
| 1993 | 12 | #4,690 |
| 1992 | 11 | #4,864 |
| 1991 | 14 | #3,998 |
| 1990 | 10 | #4,986 |
| 1989 | 7 | #6,222 |
| 1988 | 10 | #4,445 |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 6 | #5,920 |
| 1985 | 8 | #4,693 |
| 1984 | 8 | #4,549 |
| 1983 | 7 | #4,904 |
| 1982 | 8 | #4,591 |
| 1981 | 8 | #4,507 |
| 1980 | 6 | #5,523 |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 10 | #3,613 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 7 | #4,052 |
Names like Zahir
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad, Hamza, Zayd, Musa, Abdullah, Zayaan, Zayan, Umar, Ahmed, Amir, Mustafa, Ziyad
Other spellings of Zahir
Names related to Zahir
Zaire, Sahir, Zaheer, Zyair, Zuhair, Zahari, Zohair, Zair, Zyhir, Zhaire
More Arabic names
Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Aaliyah, Amira, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Aisha, Omar, Zahra, Kairo, Safa
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Zahir: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/zahir, updated 20 October 2026.