Zai
Noble and serene given name of Chinese origin.
Name Census estimates that about 290 living Americans carry the first name Zai. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Zai today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zai births was 2023 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zai. 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 Zai with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
290
~ 1 in 1,181,912 Americans
Peak year
2023
33 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,970
Tracked since 2001
Census
Zai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 495 people with the first name Zai, which placed it at #20,757 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
#20,757
National first-name rank
People counted
495
495 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
42.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zai is Asian/Pacific Islander at 42.6%. The next largest groups are Black (26.3%) and Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Zai 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 Zai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander42.6% · 211
- Black or African American26.3% · 130
- Hispanic or Latino12.1% · 60
- White9.5% · 47
- Two or more races8.7% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Zai
Zai is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 292 total registrations, 227 (77.7%) were male and 65 (22.3%) were female.
Zai as a male name
- Ranked #3,970 in 2024
- 28 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (28 births)
Zai as a female name
- Ranked #13,411 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2018 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zai on both sides of the split. Of the 494 people counted with this name, 292 were male (59.1%) and 202 were female (40.9%).
Popularity
Zai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zai 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 145 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
Zai 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 Zai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Zai, while Florida, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zai
The name Zai is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, with roots dating back to the 7th century CE. In Arabic, the word "zai" can be translated to mean "he who increases" or "one who adds to." This suggests that the name may have been given to children with the hope that they would bring growth, prosperity, and abundance to their families.
During the early Islamic era, the name Zai gained popularity among Arab communities, particularly in regions like the Middle East and North Africa. It is possible that the name was mentioned in ancient Arabic texts or historical records from that period, though specific references are scarce.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Zai was a Muslim scholar and philosopher named Zai al-Din al-Razi, who lived from 1149 to 1209 CE. He was renowned for his contributions to the fields of medicine, physics, and metaphysics, and his works played a significant role in the intellectual discourse of the time.
In the 13th century, there was a notable figure named Zai al-Din al-Amidi, who was a prominent Islamic jurist and theologian. Born in 1201 CE, he authored several influential works on Islamic jurisprudence and theology, leaving a lasting impact on the development of Islamic legal thought.
Moving forward in history, the name Zai appears in records of the Ottoman Empire, which spanned parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa from the 14th to the early 20th century. One notable individual from this period was Zai Mahmud Pasha, an Ottoman statesman and military commander who lived from 1670 to 1736 CE. He played a crucial role in the empire's military campaigns and held various high-ranking positions.
In the 19th century, a notable figure named Zai Khan emerged in Afghanistan. Born in 1825, he was a prominent military leader and politician who played a significant role in the country's affairs during the Anglo-Afghan wars. His exploits and influence were widely documented in historical accounts of the time.
Throughout its long history, the name Zai has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, rulers, military leaders, and religious figures. While its popularity may have waxed and waned across different regions and time periods, the name's roots in Arabic language and culture have endured, reflecting a rich historical tapestry.
People
Zai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zai 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
Zai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 290 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zai 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 1,181,912 US residents.
Is Zai a common name?
We classify Zai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 292 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zai most popular?
The single biggest year for Zai was 2023, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zai 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 Zai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 495 people with the name Zai, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,757 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 Zai 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 Zai?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zai on both sides of the split. Of the 494 people counted with this name, 292 were male (59.1%) and 202 were female (40.9%). 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 Zai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zai is Asian/Pacific Islander at 42.6%. The next largest groups are Black (26.3%) and Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Zai most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Zai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.6% (211 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 Zai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zai a male name?
Yes, 77.7% of people registered as Zai 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 Zai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zai 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 Zai 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 share the name Zai?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.