Zabdiel
A Hebrew masculine name meaning "gift of God" or "God's gift".
Name Census estimates that about 1,387 living Americans carry the first name Zabdiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zabdiel today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zabdiel births was 2022 (205 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zabdiel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Zabdiel is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 247,119 Americans
Peak year
2022
205 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,504
Tracked since 1986
Census
Zabdiel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 753 people with the first name Zabdiel, which placed it at #15,320 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,320
National first-name rank
People counted
753
753 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
93.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zabdiel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zabdiel is Hispanic at 93.2%. The next largest groups are White (3.1%) and Black (2.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Zabdiel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Zabdiel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.2% · 702
- White3.1% · 23
- Black or African American2.1% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
- Two or more races0.1% · 1
Popularity
Zabdiel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zabdiel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 627 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zabdiel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Zabdiel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zabdiels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Zabdiel, while Washington, South Carolina, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zabdiel
The name Zabdiel is of Hebrew origin, derived from the elements "zebad" meaning "gift" and "El" referring to God. It is believed to have originated during ancient times, possibly as early as the 6th century BCE. The name is found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Nehemiah, where it refers to one of the sons of the servants of Solomon.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Zabdiel was a Jewish scholar and poet who lived in Cordoba, Spain, in the 10th century CE. He was known for his contributions to Hebrew literature and his works on grammar and linguistics.
Another notable figure named Zabdiel was a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and theologian from Provence, France. He wrote extensively on Jewish law and ethics, and his works were highly influential in the Jewish intellectual tradition.
In the 16th century, Zabdiel Francés was a Spanish-born Jewish theologian and Kabbalist who lived in Safed, Palestine. He was known for his mystical writings and his contributions to the development of Jewish mysticism.
During the 17th century, Zabdiel Mills was an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Sutton Courtenay in Berkshire, England. He published several works on theology and religious subjects.
In the 19th century, Zabdiel Adams was an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts between 1859 and 1863.
The name Zabdiel has continued to be used throughout history, although its popularity has varied across different regions and cultures. Its meaning, rooted in the Hebrew language and religious traditions, has remained consistent, representing the concept of a divine gift or blessing.
People
Zabdiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zabdiel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zabdiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zabdiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,387 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zabdiel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 247,119 US residents.
Is Zabdiel a common name?
We classify Zabdiel as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,399 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zabdiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Zabdiel was 2022, when 205 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zabdiel is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zabdiel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 753 people with the name Zabdiel, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,320 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Zabdiel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Zabdiel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zabdiel leans strongly male. 737 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 9 female bearers (1.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Zabdiel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zabdiel is Hispanic at 93.2%. The next largest groups are White (3.1%) and Black (2.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Zabdiel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zabdiel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (702 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Zabdiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zabdiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zabdiel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Zabdiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zabdiel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Zabdiel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Zabdiel?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Zabdiel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.