| Soraya | Zarina | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | The Pleiades | golden |
| Origin | Persian | persian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | soh-RY-ah | zah-REE-nah |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1955 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2025 (313) | 2015 (95) |
| In 2025 | 313 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Soraya | Zarina |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,517 | 403 |
| 2010s | 1,963 | 575 |
| 2000s | 1,580 | 286 |
| 1990s | 629 | 178 |
| 1980s | 422 | 113 |
| 1970s | 313 | 46 |
| 1960s | 326 | 11 |
| 1950s | 61 | 0 |
Soraya names the Pleiades star cluster 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.)
Soraya is more popular than Zarina today: about 313 US babies were given the name Soraya in 2025, compared with 0 named Zarina.
Soraya means The Pleiades (Persian origin), while Zarina means golden (persian origin).
In US records, Soraya first appears in 1955 and Zarina in 0, so Zarina has the longer recorded history.