Zae
A modern coined name with no defined meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 193 living Americans carry the first name Zae. It is a predominantly male name (97.4% of registrations). The average person named Zae today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zae births was 2023 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zae. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Zae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
193
~ 1 in 1,775,929 Americans
Peak year
2023
25 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,862
Tracked since 2008
Census
Zae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 279 people with the first name Zae, which placed it at #30,942 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
#30,942
National first-name rank
People counted
279
279 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
40.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zae is Black at 40.9%. The next largest groups are White (23.3%) and Hispanic (19.0%). 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 Zae 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 Zae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American40.9% · 114
- White23.3% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino19.0% · 53
- Two or more races10.0% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Zae
Zae leans heavily male at 97.4% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Zae as a male name
- Ranked #4,862 in 2024
- 21 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (25 births)
Zae as a female name
- Ranked #17,585 in 2021
- 5 female births in 2021
- Peak: 2021 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zae on both sides of the split. Of the 278 people counted with this name, 197 were male (70.9%) and 81 were female (29.1%).
Popularity
Zae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zae from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 104 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
Zae 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 Zae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zae
The name Zae is a unique and intriguing name that has its origins in ancient civilizations. It is believed to have roots in the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3500-3000 BC. The word "zae" in Sumerian is thought to mean "life" or "alive," reflecting the reverence for life that was central to the Sumerian culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zae can be found in Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions, which were writings carved onto clay tablets. These inscriptions suggest that the name was used during the reign of the Sumerian king Shulgi, who ruled around 2094-2047 BC. While the exact context and significance of the name in these ancient texts remain uncertain, its presence highlights the name's antiquity.
Throughout history, the name Zae has been borne by notable individuals, though its usage has been relatively rare. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Zae of Phrygia, a philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC in the region of Phrygia, which is now part of modern-day Turkey. Zae was a proponent of stoicism and is believed to have influenced the teachings of the famous Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium.
Another historical figure with the name Zae was Zae of Pergamon, a Greek physician who lived in the 2nd century BC. He is credited with developing a groundbreaking method for treating cataracts, which was a significant advancement in the field of ophthalmology at the time.
In the realm of literature, the name Zae appears in the ancient epic poem "The Odyssey" by Homer, written around the 8th century BC. In the poem, Zae is mentioned as a minor character, a servant in the household of Odysseus.
Moving forward in time, the name Zae was also borne by Zae the Patrician, a Byzantine aristocrat and military commander who lived in the 6th century AD. He played a crucial role in the defense of Constantinople during the Avar Siege of 626 AD, where his strategic leadership helped repel the invading forces.
Finally, in more recent history, Zae was the name of a renowned 19th century Japanese painter and calligrapher. Zae Ryōei (1833-1907) was a master of the Nanga style of painting, which was heavily influenced by Chinese artistic traditions. His works are celebrated for their delicate brushwork and poetic representations of nature.
While the name Zae may be unfamiliar to many today, its rich historical tapestry spans ancient civilizations, philosophical movements, literary works, military campaigns, and artistic endeavors. Despite its rarity, the name has left an indelible mark on various cultures and eras, serving as a testament to the enduring power of names and their ability to transcend time.
People
Zae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zae 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
Zae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 193 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zae 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 1,775,929 US residents.
Is Zae a common name?
We classify Zae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 194 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zae most popular?
The single biggest year for Zae was 2023, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zae is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 279 people with the name Zae, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,942 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 Zae 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 Zae?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zae on both sides of the split. Of the 278 people counted with this name, 197 were male (70.9%) and 81 were female (29.1%). 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 Zae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zae is Black at 40.9%. The next largest groups are White (23.3%) and Hispanic (19.0%). 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 Zae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.9% (114 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 Zae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zae a male name?
Yes, 97.4% of people registered as Zae 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 Zae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zae 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 Zae 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 people have the name Zae?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.