Ziya comes from the Arabic word diya and means "light" or "splendor"; in Turkish it is written Ziya and traditionally given to boys, while American parents use it mostly for girls. Its short, zippy sound puts it next to Zia and Zara in the current fashion for Z names. Ziya climbed from number 6483 in 2000 to its best rank of number 1489 in 2022 and stands at number 1941 in 2025.