Zahara is a form of the Arabic Zahra and means "flower" or "blossom", with a secondary reading of "shining" or "radiant" from the same root. It is used across the Arabic-speaking world and East Africa, and Angelina Jolie's daughter Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia in 2005, brought it to American attention. Zahara stood at number 6480 in 2000, reached number 1197 in 2021 and ranks number 1289 in 2025.