What Does the Name Zara Mean?

Zara is a girl's name of Arabic / Hebrew origin meaning “Radiance, blooming flower; or seed/dawn.”

Updated June 2026

Name	Zara
Gender	female
Origin	Arabic / Hebrew
Meaning	Radiance, blooming flower; or seed/dawn
Variants	Zahra, Zahrah, Sara, Zora
Popularity	A steady favorite in the UK (boosted by royal Zara Tindall) and well used in the US; also widespread across the Arab world in the Zahra form.

The meaning and origin of Zara

The name Zara means “Radiance, blooming flower; or seed/dawn” and has Arabic / Hebrew origins. Most commonly traced to Arabic Zahra ("blooming flower, radiance"), an epithet of Fatimah al-Zahra; it also coincides with a Hebrew biblical name Zerah ("seed, dawn"). The form was popularized in English partly by Frances Burney's 18th-century usage and by Princess Zara Phillips.

Variants and related names

Zara is related to several other names you may recognize: Zahra, Zahrah, Sara, Zora. These share a common root or are spelling and language variants of the same name.

How popular is the name Zara?

A steady favorite in the UK (boosted by royal Zara Tindall) and well used in the US; also widespread across the Arab world in the Zahra form.

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