Meaning of the nameZaira

Zaira is a feminine name of Arabic origin meaning 'bright', which reached Portuguese through the French form Zaïre, the title of a tragedy by Voltaire (1732).

Meaning

“bright”

Source: Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Zaira

More names that mean light

People (2022): 7,111
Rank in Brazil: #2,143
Median age: 54 years
2010 Census: 8,018; people

Zaira in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Zaira, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1950s (1,232 people).

7,070 women 41 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Zaira is most common

States with the highest share of people named Zaira in the population, in the 2022 Census.

All states

State	People	% of population
Rio Grande do Sul	1,390	0.013%
São Paulo	1,368	0.003%
Minas Gerais	555	0.003%
Rio de Janeiro	540	0.003%
Bahia	454	0.003%
Santa Catarina	406	0.005%
Paraná	350	0.003%
Pará	281	0.004%
Ceará	208	0.002%
Maranhão	177	0.003%
Goiás	167	0.002%
Pernambuco	154	0.002%
Amazonas	145	0.004%
Rio Grande do Norte	115	0.004%
Mato Grosso	100	0.003%
Mato Grosso do Sul	99	0.004%
Piauí	98	0.003%
Espírito Santo	96	0.003%
Distrito Federal	92	0.003%
Paraíba	56	0.001%
Sergipe	48	0.002%
Rondônia	41	0.003%
Tocantins	40	0.003%
Amapá	37	0.005%
Alagoas	35	0.001%
Roraima	34	0.005%
Acre	25	0.003%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Zaira

The Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil derives Zaira from the Arabic zahīrâ, 'bright', through the French Zaïre, the title of a 1732 tragedy by Voltaire. Behind the Name describes it as the Italian and Spanish form of Zaïre and mentions the opera Zaira, by Bellini (1829), based on the play. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 7,111 people named Zaira, with a median age of 54. Proportionally, it is most common in Rio Grande do Sul.

Sources

Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Zaira · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · meaning
Behind the Name: Zaira · behindthename.com · origin

Questions about the name Zaira

What does the name Zaira mean?

Zaira means “bright”, according to Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil.

How many people are named Zaira in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 7,111 people with the first name Zaira, which ranks it number 2,143 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1950s.

Is Zaira a boy's or a girl's name?

Zaira is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 7,070 women and 41 men had this name.

What is the origin of the name Zaira?

Zaira is a name of Arabic origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Zaira most common?

Proportionally, in Rio Grande do Sul: 0.013% of the state's population is named Zaira (1,390 people), according to the 2022 Census.

Names that also mean light

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More names of Arabic origin

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Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Zaira with a source. See the methodology.