Zahava
A Hebrew feminine name meaning "gold" or "radiant one".
Name Census estimates that about 798 living Americans carry the first name Zahava. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zahava today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zahava births was 2020 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zahava. 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.
People living today
798
~ 1 in 429,517 Americans
Peak year
2020
39 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,947
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Zahava: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zahava from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 265 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zahava remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zahava 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 Zahava during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zahavas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Florida recorded the most babies named Zahava, while California, Florida, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 93 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zahava
The name Zahava is a Hebrew name derived from the word "zahav," meaning "gold" in the ancient Hebrew language. It has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in the region that is now modern-day Israel, dating back to biblical times.
The name Zahava is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament, where it is used as a symbolic reference to the precious metal gold. In the Book of Proverbs, wisdom is likened to "more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zahava dates back to the 12th century CE, when a Jewish woman named Zahava bat Avraham lived in Judea during the Crusades period. She is mentioned in historical records as a respected scholar and teacher of the Torah.
In the 16th century, a prominent Jewish philosopher and mystic named Zahava ben Shmuel Ashkenazi lived in Safed, a city in the Galilee region of modern-day Israel. He was known for his works on Kabbalah and contributed significantly to the development of Jewish mysticism.
During the 17th century, a woman named Zahava bat Yitzchak was a renowned Hebrew calligrapher and scribe in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She was responsible for transcribing and preserving many important Jewish texts and religious writings.
In more recent history, Zahava Gal-On, born in 1956, is an Israeli politician and former leader of the Meretz political party in Israel. She has been a member of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) since 1999 and has advocated for social justice, human rights, and environmental issues.
Another notable figure with the name Zahava is Zahava Levine, born in 1940, an Israeli-American writer and journalist. She has written extensively on Jewish culture, history, and identity, and her works have been widely published and acclaimed.
Throughout its history, the name Zahava has been associated with beauty, radiance, and precious value, reflecting its origins as a symbol of gold in the ancient Hebrew language. It has been borne by scholars, mystics, artists, and influential figures across different eras and regions.
People
Zahava + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zahava 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
Zahava: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zahava?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 798 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zahava 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 429,517 US residents.
Is Zahava a common name?
We classify Zahava as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 813 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zahava most popular?
The single biggest year for Zahava was 2020, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zahava is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zahava a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zahava in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.