Zalaya is a modern American coinage with no traditional meaning; it blends the fashionable Z- opening of "Zaria" and Zaniyah with the flowing ending of "Alaya". Such names have been popular in African American families since the 2010s. Zalaya has always been rare in the United States, with a peak at number 2702 in 2023 and number 2776 in 2025, when 62 girls received the name.