Zaneb
Feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "tail", particularly that of a bird.
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Zaneb. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zaneb today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zaneb births was 2001 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zaneb. 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 Zaneb. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
2001
8 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2001 SSA rank
#12,043
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Zaneb: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zaneb from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 8 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
Zaneb 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 Zaneb during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zaneb
The given name Zaneb is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "Zanab" which means "tail" or "trailing part" in Arabic. This name has been in use since ancient times, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.
The earliest recorded use of the name Zaneb can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. One of the wives of Muhammad was named Zaneb bint Jahsh, who was also the cousin of the prophet.
In Islamic literature and scriptures, the name Zaneb is mentioned in several instances. For example, in the Qur'an, the 33rd chapter is titled "Surah Al-Ahzab" (The Confederates), which includes verses referring to the incident known as the "Slander against Ayesha and Zaneb."
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Zaneb. One of the earliest was Zaneb bint Al-Ghazzali, a renowned Islamic scholar and mystic who lived in the 12th century CE. She was the daughter of the famous philosopher and theologian Al-Ghazali.
Another famous Zaneb was Zaneb Al-Fawwaz, a 13th-century Arab poet and writer from Damascus, Syria. Her poetry and literary works were widely celebrated during her time.
In the 16th century, Zaneb Begum was a prominent figure in the Mughal Empire of South Asia. She was the daughter of Emperor Humayun and sister of the legendary Akbar the Great.
One of the most recent notable figures with the name Zaneb was Zaneb Al-Ghazali, an Egyptian activist and leader of the Muslim Brotherhood organization in the 20th century. She played a significant role in the Egyptian national movement against British colonial rule.
Zaneb Jah, an Afghan-American human rights activist and entrepreneur, is another individual who has carried this name in modern times. She has been actively involved in promoting education and empowerment for women and girls in Afghanistan.
People
Zaneb + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zaneb 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
Zaneb: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zaneb?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zaneb 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Zaneb a common name?
We classify Zaneb as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zaneb most popular?
The single biggest year for Zaneb was 2001, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zaneb is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zaneb a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zaneb 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.