| Sanaa | Zuri | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Work of art | Beautiful |
| Origin | Swahili | swahili |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | sah-NAH | ZOO-ree |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1977 | 1971 |
| Peak year | 2006 (482) | 2022 (1,523) |
| In 2025 | 89 | 932 |
| Trend | Declining | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Sanaa | Zuri |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 601 | 7,795 |
| 2010s | 2,202 | 7,024 |
| 2000s | 3,178 | 1,239 |
| 1990s | 104 | 522 |
| 1980s | 56 | 208 |
| 1970s | 5 | 56 |
Sanaa means “work of art” or “brilliance” in Swahili.
Swahili, 'beautiful,' from the adjective -zuri ('good, beautiful'; cf. nzuri, uzuri 'beauty'). Chiefly feminine. A sometimes-cited Basque meaning ('white') is weakly sourced.
Zuri is more popular than Sanaa today: about 932 US babies were given the name Zuri in 2025, compared with 89 named Sanaa.
Sanaa means Work of art (Swahili origin), while Zuri means Beautiful (swahili origin).
In US records, Sanaa first appears in 1977 and Zuri in 1971, so Zuri has the longer recorded history.