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The short answer
Zara was used by English playwright William Congreve for a captive North African queen in his 1697 tragedy The Mourning Bride, possibly based on the Arabic name Zahra. Aaron Hill later used it in 1736 to translate the name Zaïre from Voltaire's French play. Behind the Name says the name was popularized in England when Princess Anne gave it to her daughter in 1981, and its use today may also be influenced by the Spanish clothing retailer Zara. A separate Bulgarian entry treats Zara as a diminutive of Zaharina. Pronounced ZAR-ə, it ranked #212 for girls in the United States in 2025.
Meaning and etymology
Behind the Name traces this Zara to English literature: playwright William Congreve used it in 1697 for a captive queen in The Mourning Bride, "possibly based on the Arabic name Zahra", and in 1736 Aaron Hill reused it to translate the name Zaïre in his adaptation of Voltaire's play. The entry credits Princess Anne's naming of her daughter Zara in 1981 with popularizing the name in England, and notes the Spanish retailer Zara as a possible modern influence. A separate, unrelated entry treats Zara as a Bulgarian diminutive of Zaharina.
Editorial confidence: likely
Linguistic roots
| Language | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic | أَزْهَر (azhar) | flower / radiant (via Zahra, possible source) |
Competing or overlapping origins
- A separate Behind the Name entry, Zara (2), is a Bulgarian diminutive of Zaharina, unrelated to Congreve's literary Zara beyond the shared spelling.
Popularity
Zara ranked #212 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, according to the Social Security Administration.
| Region | Year | Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | #212 | ssa-2025 |
Nicknames, variants, and related names
Nicknames: None documented.
Variants: None documented.
Related names: Zahra, Zaharina
What the name feels like
Zara feels sleek and international, helped along by its overlap with a global fashion brand, but its roots as an 18th-century literary invention give it more history than that association suggests.
Style tags: literary, royal association, internationally recognizable, sleek
Editorial interpretation: This style framing is editorial opinion. The literary origin, Princess Anne's 1981 naming and the retailer association are documented by Behind the Name; describing the overall effect as 'sleek and international' is subjective.
If you like this name
Editorial picks for readers drawn to Zara's literary origin or its royal association.
Similar by origin
- Zahra
- Zaharina
Similar by popularity
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Zara mean?
It likely relates to the Arabic name Zahra, meaning "flower" or "radiant", since Behind the Name says playwright William Congreve may have based his literary Zara on that name.
Where does the name Zara come from?
It was coined by English playwright William Congreve for his 1697 tragedy The Mourning Bride, and was later popularized when Princess Anne named her daughter Zara in 1981.
Is Zara a popular name?
Zara ranked #212 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, according to Social Security Administration data.
Sources
- Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Zara (1) — supports etymology, history, pronunciation.
- Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Zara (2) — supports competingOrigins.
- U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names — national data, year of birth 2025 — supports popularity.
