Zaria is a modern name with several roots: it is usually explained as a form of the Arabic Zahra, "flower" or "blossom", and it is also the name of a city in northern Nigeria and echoes the Slavic Zarya, "dawn". American parents took it up in the 1990s as a fresh alternative to Maria and Zara. Zaria was at its US peak, number 479, in 2000, has stayed in the top 1000 every year since and ranks number 945 in 2025.