Zehra

Meaning of Zehra

Zehra, a female given name of Turkish usage that ultimately derives from the Arabic root zahra—“bright,” “blossoming,” or “radiant”—encapsulates both aesthetic and spiritual dimensions, most notably through its historical association with Fatimah al-Zahra, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, whose epithet conferred upon the name a venerable status across Islamic cultures. Employed widely throughout the Middle East and South Asia, Zehra has, since its first appearance in United States Social Security data in the late 1970s, maintained a modest yet consistent presence, with annual occurrences fluctuating between five and thirty-three and corresponding national rankings varying between the mid-700s and the high-900s, most recently stabilizing around the 930th position with twenty occurrences in 2024. Pronounced ZEY-hra (/ˈzeɪ.hɹə/) in Turkish, the name’s sustained albeit limited adoption in the Anglo-American context underscores both an appreciation for its phonetic clarity and a broader trend toward the integration of global naming traditions in contemporary American onomastics.

Pronunciation

Turkish

• Pronunced as ZEY-hra (/ˈzeɪ.hɹə/)

• Zahra
• Zara
• Zena
• Zayna
• Zora
• Zaira
• Zella