Meaning and history
Zahir is an Arabic masculine name. When written ظَاهِر, it means “apparent,” “visible,” or “manifest”; a similarly romanized form from a different Arabic consonant can mean “bright” or “shining.” The original Arabic spelling therefore matters. Al-Ẓāhir is also one of the traditional divine names in Islam. Notable bearers include Bangladeshi writer and filmmaker Zahir Raihan and Afghan military officer Zahir Azimi, though transliteration practices vary.
20062006: 108 births, rank #1,438
2007: 139 births, rank #1,263
2008: 116 births, rank #1,436
2009: 119 births, rank #1,413
2010: 139 births, rank #1,256
20112011: 114 births, rank #1,440
2012: 136 births, rank #1,285
2013: 137 births, rank #1,269
2014: 172 births, rank #1,110
2015: 153 births, rank #1,205
20162016: 178 births, rank #1,102
2017: 216 births, rank #961
2018: 213 births, rank #975
2019: 233 births, rank #935
2020: 255 births, rank #886
20212021: 276 births, rank #852
2022: 288 births, rank #846
2023: 346 births, rank #752
2024: 341 births, rank #749
20252025: 356 births, rank #738
Zahir rose from #750 to #738 for boys between 2024 and 2025. That year also produced its highest recorded birth count, at 356.