Zainab
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- ZAY-nab
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #140 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #807 for girls
Zainab is a girls' name of Arabic origin. In 2025 it ranked 140th for girls in the UK (407 babies) and 807th for girls in the US (338 babies).
What does Zainab mean?
Arabic: spelling of Zaynab
Borne by a daughter and a granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad; Zaynab bint Ali spoke out after the Battle of Karbala.
Is Zainab a girl's or a boy's name?
Zainab is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 407 girls in the UK and 338 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Zainab in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 140th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 407 about 1 in 680 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 1% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 2% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 407 girls in the UK were named Zainab, making it the 140th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 144th. Its busiest year was 2010, with 458 girls.
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had more girls named Zainab than any year since 2016.
Half of all the girls named Zainab in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2018. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
In 2025, 580 girls in the UK were given Zainab or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #102, up from #140 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 128th in England and Wales, 217th in Scotland and 290th in Northern Ireland.
Zainab in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 407 | #140 |
| 2024 | 373 | #148 |
| 2023 | 335 | #172 |
| 2022 | 321 | #175 |
| 2021 | 319 | #180 |
| 2020 | 396 | #144 |
| 2019 | 361 | #155 |
| 2018 | 371 | #161 |
| 2017 | 392 | #159 |
| 2016 | 419 | #147 |
| 2015 | 409 | #149 |
| 2014 | 440 | #140 |
| 2013 | 438 | #140 |
| 2012 | 450 | #146 |
| 2011 | 407 | #151 |
| 2010 | 458 | #138 |
| 2009 | 433 | #145 |
| 2008 | 421 | #142 |
| 2007 | 384 | #161 |
| 2006 | 338 | #180 |
| 2005 | 309 | #189 |
| 2004 | 297 | #182 |
| 2003 | 268 | #199 |
| 2002 | 279 | #171 |
| 2001 | 236 | #194 |
| 2000 | 208 | #229 |
| 1999 | 185 | #251 |
| 1998 | 192 | #246 |
| 1997 | 160 | #267 |
| 1996 | 161 | #260 |
How popular is Zainab in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 807th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 338 about 1 in 4,800 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 15% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 338 girls in the US were named Zainab, making it the 807th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 964th. It first appears in the records in 1957.
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 5 years. 2025 had the most girls named Zainab of any year since it first appeared, in 1957.
Half of all the girls named Zainab in the US since 1880 were born between 2004 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 532 girls in the US were given Zainab or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #562, up from #807 for this spelling alone.
Zainab in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 338 | #807 |
| 2024 | 319 | #848 |
| 2023 | 307 | #876 |
| 2022 | 298 | #918 |
| 2021 | 280 | #942 |
| 2020 | 264 | #964 |
| 2019 | 294 | #904 |
| 2018 | 280 | #948 |
| 2017 | 308 | #883 |
| 2016 | 301 | #915 |
| 2015 | 288 | #941 |
| 2014 | 302 | #898 |
| 2013 | 260 | #968 |
| 2012 | 247 | #1,026 |
| 2011 | 219 | #1,120 |
| 2010 | 221 | #1,115 |
| 2009 | 212 | #1,184 |
| 2008 | 193 | #1,286 |
| 2007 | 171 | #1,396 |
| 2006 | 178 | #1,314 |
| 2005 | 168 | #1,314 |
| 2004 | 170 | #1,263 |
| 2003 | 154 | #1,327 |
| 2002 | 146 | #1,327 |
| 2001 | 164 | #1,230 |
| 2000 | 143 | #1,323 |
| 1999 | 118 | #1,459 |
| 1998 | 116 | #1,470 |
| 1997 | 93 | #1,680 |
| 1996 | 98 | #1,581 |
| 1995 | 84 | #1,726 |
| 1994 | 77 | #1,836 |
| 1993 | 51 | #2,446 |
| 1992 | 44 | #2,728 |
| 1991 | 49 | #2,513 |
| 1990 | 47 | #2,518 |
| 1989 | 32 | #3,247 |
| 1988 | 30 | #3,220 |
| 1987 | 33 | #2,913 |
| 1986 | 28 | #3,201 |
| 1985 | 27 | #3,245 |
| 1984 | 26 | #3,232 |
| 1983 | 23 | #3,430 |
| 1982 | 29 | #3,016 |
| 1981 | 18 | #4,161 |
| 1980 | 19 | #3,991 |
| 1979 | 10 | #6,188 |
| 1978 | 12 | #5,214 |
| 1977 | 7 | #7,565 |
| 1976 | 6 | #8,154 |
| 1975 | 5 | #9,065 |
| 1974 | 7 | #6,898 |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 7 | #4,889 |
| 1957 | 5 | #6,085 |
Names like Zainab
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Aaliyah, Ayah, Hafsa, Summer, Amira, Hiba, Khadija, Amal, Sumayyah, Noor, Rahma
Other spellings of Zainab
Names related to Zainab
More Arabic names
Muhammad, Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Amir, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Aisha, Omar, Zahra, Hamza, Kairo
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, “Zainab: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/zainab, updated 20 October 2026.