Zahil
A masculine Arabic name meaning attentive, thoughtful, or reflective.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Zahil. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zahil today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zahil births was 2023 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zahil. 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 Zahil with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zahil. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2023
5 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,144
Tracked since 2023
Popularity
Zahil: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Zahil 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 Zahil during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Zahil
The name Zahil has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "zahil," which means "neglectful" or "forgetful." The name likely first appeared during the early days of Islam, around the 7th century AD, in the regions of the Arabian Peninsula.
In ancient Arabic poetry and literature, the name Zahil was sometimes used as a metaphorical reference to someone who was absent-minded or easily distracted. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name can be found in the writings of the renowned 8th-century Arab poet, Abu Nuwas, who mentioned a character named Zahil in one of his poems.
The name Zahil gained some historical significance during the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over a vast empire stretching from North Africa to Central Asia between the 8th and 13th centuries. One notable figure from this period was Zahil ibn Rabia al-Kufi, a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist who lived in the 9th century AD and was known for his expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad).
Another historically significant individual bearing the name Zahil was Zahil al-Zayyat, a famous Arab mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 10th century AD during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. He made significant contributions to the fields of trigonometry and spherical geometry, and his works were widely studied and referenced by scholars of his time.
In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook Zahil al-Andalusi, a renowned Andalusian poet and literary figure who lived in the 11th century AD during the height of the Umayyad Caliphate in Spain. His poetic works, which often celebrated the beauty of nature and love, were highly regarded and influenced the literary traditions of the region.
Another notable individual named Zahil was Zahil al-Baghdadi, a celebrated calligrapher and artist who lived in the 13th century AD during the Abbasid period. His intricate and beautiful calligraphic works adorned numerous mosques, palaces, and manuscripts, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest calligraphers in Islamic history.
While the name Zahil may have fallen out of widespread use in modern times, its rich historical significance and connections to influential figures in various fields of Islamic culture and scholarship make it a name with a fascinating and enduring legacy.
People
Zahil + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zahil 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
Zahil: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zahil?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zahil 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Zahil a common name?
We classify Zahil as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zahil most popular?
The single biggest year for Zahil was 2023, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zahil is about 3 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Zahil in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zahil a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zahil 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 Zahil still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zahil 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 Zahil 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Zahil?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.