Zaleth
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Hebrew.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Zaleth. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zaleth today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zaleth births was 2004 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zaleth. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zaleth. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
2004
7 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2004 SSA rank
#14,152
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Zaleth: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Zaleth 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 Zaleth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Zaleth
The given name Zaleth originates from the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) during the 3rd millennium BCE. It is believed to be derived from the Sumerian word "zal," meaning "pure" or "sacred," and the suffix "-eth," which was commonly used to form personal names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zaleth can be found in cuneiform inscriptions from the city of Ur, dating back to around 2500 BCE. These inscriptions mention a high priest named Zaleth-ki, who served in the temple of the moon god Nanna. This suggests that the name may have had religious significance in ancient Sumerian culture.
In the epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known literary works from Mesopotamia, a character named Zaleth appears as a wise woman who helps the hero Gilgamesh on his journey. This text, which dates back to around 2100 BCE, provides further evidence of the name's antiquity and its association with wisdom and guidance.
Throughout ancient history, several notable individuals bore the name Zaleth. One such person was Zaleth the Scribe, a renowned scholar and calligrapher who lived in the city of Babylon during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BCE. Another was Zaleth of Alexandria, a philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 3rd century BCE and made significant contributions to the field of geometry.
In the 1st century CE, a Jewish scholar named Zaleth ben Yohanan is mentioned in the Talmud, an important compilation of Jewish religious law and tradition. He is credited with preserving and transmitting various teachings and interpretations of the Torah.
During the medieval period, a prominent Islamic scholar and physician named Zaleth al-Razi, also known as Rhazes, lived in the 9th and 10th centuries. He made significant contributions to the field of medicine and is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of Islamic science.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Zaleth, which has endured for over four millennia and has been associated with wisdom, scholarship, and religious devotion across various cultures and civilizations.
People
Zaleth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zaleth 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
Zaleth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zaleth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zaleth 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Zaleth a common name?
We classify Zaleth as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zaleth most popular?
The single biggest year for Zaleth was 2004, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zaleth is about 22 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 Zaleth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zaleth a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zaleth 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.
Is Zaleth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zaleth 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 Zaleth 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 are called Zaleth?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.