Zain
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Meaning
beauty, grace (variant of Zayn)
The story
Zain means "beauty, grace" in Arabic, the usual form in Urdu and Malay, and the name of a son of Husayn ibn Ali honored by Shia Muslims as the fourth imam. The American record shows two stories stacked. The first is a long, patient build: 159 boys in the 1980s, 762 in the 1990s, 2,131 in the 2000s. Then the reference books note plainly that the name gained popularity in America after One Direction became well known in 2011, Zayn Malik being the band's Zayn, and the 2010s column reads 3,758 with 3,084 more so far this decade. A one-syllable name meaning beauty, already at home in three languages, and, per the record, better known in America and parts of Europe after 2011: the columns confirm the timing precisely.
How popular is Zain around the world?
In the United States, 3,145 babies were named Zain between 2020 and 2025. In Canada, 164 boys named Zain were born in 2024, the 204th most common name among boys that year.
Zain is on the official records of the United States, Canada, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Austria, Norway, South Australia, Argentina, France, Poland, Spain, Mexico City and Brazil.
United States
1 in 6,900
In the United States, 3,145 babies were named Zain between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Zain peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 2,200
In Canada, 164 boys named Zain were born in 2024, the 204th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 2,400
In England and Wales, 240 boys named Zain were born in 2025, the 209th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 3,600
In Ireland, 15 boys named Zain were born in 2025, the 286th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 3,800
In Scotland, 12 boys named Zain were registered in 2024, the 307th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Austria
1 in 4,200
In Austria, 18 boys named Zain were born in 2025, the 305th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Norway
1 in 5,600register 2026
In Norway, 5 boys were given the name Zain in 2025.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Zain in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Argentina
1 in 23,000
In Argentina, 29 newborns were given the name Zain in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
France
1 in 26,000
In France, about 25 boys named Zain were born in 2025, ranked 1,382nd among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Zain, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Poland
1 in 82,000
In Poland, 3 boys named Zain were born in 2025, the 581st most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Spain
1 in 100,000
In Spain, 441 residents are named Zain, ranked 2,520th among men, with a mean age of 21 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Zain in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 106 people in Brazil were named Zain, ranked 39,630th, with a median age of 6.
Among people named Zain living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 40 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
New Zealand
last on record 2024
Zain is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years.
When you meet Zain
Most people given the name Zain in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Zain travels
Urdu and Pakistani · A documented choice in Pakistani and Urdu-speaking families.
Keep exploring
The Zain deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Zain truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Zain fits with your family’s names and surname.
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