Zaynab
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- ZAY-nab
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #316 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #1,484 for girls
Zaynab is a girls' name of Arabic origin. In 2025 it ranked 316th for girls in the UK (153 babies) and 1,484th for girls in the US (144 babies).
What does Zaynab mean?
Arabic
Zaynab bint Ali, granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad, is revered for her courage after the Battle of Karbala.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Zaynab a girl's or a boy's name?
Zaynab is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 153 girls in the UK and 144 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Zaynab in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 316th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 153 about 1 in 1,800 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 4% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 153 girls in the UK were named Zaynab, making it the 316th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 359th. Its busiest year was 2016, with 190 girls.
2025 had more girls named Zaynab than any year since 2018.
Half of all the girls named Zaynab in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 580 girls in the UK were given Zaynab or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #102, up from #316 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 301st in England and Wales and 632nd in Scotland.
Zaynab in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 153 | #316 |
| 2024 | 146 | #330 |
| 2023 | 152 | #320 |
| 2022 | 126 | #382 |
| 2021 | 136 | #374 |
| 2020 | 136 | #359 |
| 2019 | 149 | #341 |
| 2018 | 184 | #291 |
| 2017 | 181 | #296 |
| 2016 | 190 | #291 |
| 2015 | 177 | #298 |
| 2014 | 173 | #302 |
| 2013 | 152 | #342 |
| 2012 | 147 | #365 |
| 2011 | 133 | #383 |
| 2010 | 131 | #383 |
| 2009 | 171 | #301 |
| 2008 | 161 | #322 |
| 2007 | 150 | #332 |
| 2006 | 160 | #312 |
| 2005 | 123 | #357 |
| 2004 | 107 | #386 |
| 2003 | 129 | #325 |
| 2002 | 111 | #347 |
| 2001 | 99 | #372 |
| 2000 | 91 | #396 |
| 1999 | 68 | #487 |
| 1998 | 65 | #500 |
| 1997 | 43 | #657 |
| 1996 | 30 | #816 |
How popular is Zaynab in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,484th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 144 about 1 in 11,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 18% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 144 girls in the US were named Zaynab, making it the 1,484th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,781st. Its busiest year was 2016, with 146 girls. It first appears in the records in 1982.
2025 had more girls named Zaynab than any year since 2016.
Half of all the girls named Zaynab in the US since 1880 were born between 2009 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 532 girls in the US were given Zaynab or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #562, up from #1,484 for this spelling alone.
Zaynab in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 144 | #1,484 |
| 2024 | 139 | #1,536 |
| 2023 | 143 | #1,506 |
| 2022 | 111 | #1,828 |
| 2021 | 126 | #1,652 |
| 2020 | 111 | #1,781 |
| 2019 | 114 | #1,789 |
| 2018 | 136 | #1,585 |
| 2017 | 121 | #1,744 |
| 2016 | 146 | #1,541 |
| 2015 | 133 | #1,609 |
| 2014 | 99 | #1,997 |
| 2013 | 102 | #1,939 |
| 2012 | 84 | #2,232 |
| 2011 | 56 | #3,013 |
| 2010 | 60 | #2,869 |
| 2009 | 59 | #2,939 |
| 2008 | 59 | #2,956 |
| 2007 | 61 | #2,930 |
| 2006 | 47 | #3,413 |
| 2005 | 41 | #3,583 |
| 2004 | 57 | #2,804 |
| 2003 | 37 | #3,727 |
| 2002 | 36 | #3,650 |
| 2001 | 45 | #3,087 |
| 2000 | 24 | #4,786 |
| 1999 | 26 | #4,309 |
| 1998 | 32 | #3,645 |
| 1997 | 21 | #4,815 |
| 1996 | 12 | #7,125 |
| 1995 | 12 | #7,036 |
| 1994 | 24 | #4,233 |
| 1993 | 17 | #5,413 |
| 1992 | 17 | #5,477 |
| 1991 | 11 | #7,423 |
| 1990 | 9 | #8,495 |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 5 | #11,792 |
| 1987 | 8 | #7,982 |
| 1986 | 10 | #6,609 |
| 1985 | 6 | #9,304 |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 8 | #7,467 |
Names like Zaynab
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Hafsa, Aaliyah, Ayah, Hiba, Nusaybah, Sumayyah, Rahma, Huda, Ruqayyah, Safaa, Safiya
Other spellings of Zaynab
More Arabic names
Muhammad, Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Amir, Amira, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Aisha, Omar, Zahra, Hamza
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, “Zaynab: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/zaynab, updated 20 October 2026.