I came by this entry http://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Zaria linking Zaria as a variation on Sarah by way of Zara. However, I’m not finding any other sources to back this up - in fact nobody seems to really know where his name came from. I’m seeing a Nigerian place name as a possibility, possible Hebrew and Arabic roots, a slavic goddess, and speculation on it being a modern invention.
Anybody have some information on this one for me – and am I pronouncing it correctly with “CZAR-ee-ah” – Aria with a Z? Is there any validity to taking this one as a variation of Sarah, or should I stick with Zara, Sally and Sadie as the offshoots?
[name_f]Zaria[/name_f] is a Kaduna State in Northern Nigeria…also, it is a goddess of beauty according the Polish mythology. [name_f]Zosia[/name_f] and Zoria are the other two names that are closely related to [name_f]Zaria[/name_f].
[name_f]Zorya[/name_f] is about three Slavic goddesses of the night and there is another page regarding this on Wikipedia which is where I got the other info.
So based on what I read, [name_f]Zaria[/name_f] is a very close cousin or variation of the Polish and Slavic name relatives based on historical facts.
I’m leaning toward a modern invention based on the Arabic [name_f]Zahrah[/name_f]. Everything I found went back to [name_f]Zahrah[/name_f], which means “blooming flower.”
I don’t know if it’s legitimately Arabic. The triliteral root for white in Arabic is zhr– unlike in English, where Hs are often silent, the Ha is a voiced sound and very much integral to the word. [name_f]Zahara[/name_f] (flowering), [name_u]Zahir[/name_u] (to become clear), [name_f]Zahrah[/name_f] (a white flower), [name_f]Zahra[/name_f] (clear), [name_f]Zahirah[/name_f] (Shining), Zahraa’ (white) etc… but not [name_f]Zaria[/name_f], which would come from a different triliteral root (zry) and therefore carry a different meaning.
Supposedly [name_f]Zara[/name_f]-- not [name_f]Zahra[/name_f], but [name_f]Zara[/name_f], like [name_f]Princess[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f]'s daughter-- is an English name by way of a play by Voltaire, who coined it. It’s actually not related to [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]-- in Arabic, [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] is simply [name_f]Sarah[/name_f].