| Roya | Zarina | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Dream, vision | golden |
| Origin | Persian | persian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | ROH-yah | zah-REE-nah |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1955 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2025 (76) | 2015 (95) |
| In 2025 | 76 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Roya | Zarina |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 343 | 403 |
| 2010s | 392 | 575 |
| 2000s | 219 | 286 |
| 1990s | 275 | 178 |
| 1980s | 234 | 113 |
| 1970s | 99 | 46 |
| 1960s | 42 | 11 |
| 1950s | 19 | 0 |
Roya means “dream” or “vision” in Persian.
From Persian 'zar' (gold), meaning 'golden' or 'made of gold'. Widely used in Persian, Urdu and across South Asia. (Unrelated Slavic 'tsar/zora' associations are sometimes attached but are secondary.)
Roya is more popular than Zarina today: about 76 US babies were given the name Roya in 2025, compared with 0 named Zarina.
Roya means Dream, vision (Persian origin), while Zarina means golden (persian origin).
In US records, Roya first appears in 1955 and Zarina in 0, so Zarina has the longer recorded history.