Zara

In some ways Zara could be considered a literary invention. In 1732 the highly-esteemed French philosopher Voltaire wrote a play called “Zaïre” which was a huge success on the stages of Paris (see literary references below). Quickly adapted into English, the play was renamed “Zara: A Tragedy” and saw equal success in London. It is widely believed that Voltaire’s tragic heroine’s name (Zaïre) was inspired by an Arabic name “Zahrah” (زهرة ) meaning “blooming flower”. The play takes place in 13th century Jerusalem during the Crusades when the Christian Zaïre is taken as a slave by the Muslims and soon falls in love with the Sultan. Her tragic end served to illuminate the disastrous results of religious suspicion and intolerance (Voltaire, who wrote during the Enlightenment, championed civil liberties, including freedom of religion). Aside from Zara’s Arabic origins, the name is also considered a diminutive of Zaharina, which is the Bulgarian and Macedonian female equivalent to the Biblical male name Zechariah (from the Hebrew meaning “Yahweh remembers”). It is for this reason you’ll find Zara a common name within some Slavic nations (especially Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina). Helping to popularize the name in Great Britain more recently was Princess Anne (daughter of Queen Elizabeth II) who named her only daughter Zara in 1981, sparking some attention given the name’s exotic nature. Not exactly typical of the standard English royal names, is it? Zara is a very popular name today throughout the English speaking world (except for the U.S. and Canada). Most common in Australia, Zara’s successful usage is also enjoyed in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England/Wales and Ireland.