Zariyah is a modern American elaboration of Zaria, a name that is explained in several ways: as a form of the Arabic Zahra, "flower" or "blossom", as the Russian word zarya, "dawn", or as the name of the Nigerian city of Zaria. The ending -iyah follows the pattern of Aaliyah and Zaniyah. In the United States Zariyah has been in the top 1000 since 2010, peaked at number 593 in 2022 and ranks 645 in 2025.