Zawadi
A feminine name of African origin meaning "gift" or "present".
Name Census estimates that about 244 living Americans carry the first name Zawadi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zawadi today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zawadi births was 2023 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zawadi. 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 Zawadi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
244
~ 1 in 1,404,731 Americans
Peak year
2023
23 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,770
Tracked since 1998
Census
Zawadi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 482 people with the first name Zawadi, which placed it at #21,162 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
#21,162
National first-name rank
People counted
482
482 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zawadi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zawadi is Black at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and White (1.7%). 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 Zawadi 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 Zawadi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.8% · 452
- Two or more races2.7% · 13
- White1.7% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Popularity
Zawadi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zawadi from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 104 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
Zawadi 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 Zawadi 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 Zawadi
The name Zawadi originates from the Swahili language spoken in East Africa, particularly in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. It derives from the Arabic word "zawadi," meaning "gift" or "present." The name's origins can be traced back to the influence of Arabic culture and language in the region, which began around the 7th century AD with the spread of Islam along the East African coast.
Zawadi was likely used as a name to express gratitude or to symbolize a child as a precious gift. In some cultures, it was common to give children names that reflected positive attributes or hopes for their future. The name's association with a "gift" would have been seen as auspicious and a way to bless a newborn child.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Zawadi can be found in the 19th century. Zawadi bint Muhammed, born in 1865 in Zanzibar, was a notable figure who played a role in the abolition of the slave trade in East Africa. She worked closely with British officials and helped to liberate and provide refuge for many enslaved individuals.
In the 20th century, Zawadi Makame, born in 1907 in Zanzibar, was a prominent educator and advocate for women's rights. She established several schools and organizations aimed at empowering women and promoting education in her community.
Another notable figure with the name Zawadi was Zawadi Nsaba Ngavu, a Congolese painter and sculptor born in 1951. Her works often depicted scenes from traditional African life and celebrated the richness of her cultural heritage.
In the realm of literature, Zawadi Umuti was a Kenyan author and poet born in 1935. Her writings explored themes of identity, culture, and the experiences of women in Africa. Her collection of poems, "Voices from the Savannah," published in 1978, received critical acclaim.
Lastly, Zawadi Mwanyekwa, born in 1962 in Tanzania, was a renowned musician and singer-songwriter. She was known for her powerful voice and her ability to blend traditional Tanzanian rhythms with modern influences, creating a unique and captivating sound.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who carried the name Zawadi, each making their mark in various fields and contributing to the cultural fabric of their respective societies.
People
Zawadi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zawadi 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
Zawadi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zawadi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 244 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zawadi 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 1,404,731 US residents.
Is Zawadi a common name?
We classify Zawadi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 246 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zawadi most popular?
The single biggest year for Zawadi was 2023, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zawadi is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zawadi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 482 people with the name Zawadi, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,162 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 Zawadi 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 Zawadi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zawadi leans strongly female. 414 people counted with this name were female (85.9%), compared with 68 male bearers (14.1%). 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 Zawadi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zawadi is Black at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and White (1.7%). 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 Zawadi most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zawadi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (452 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 Zawadi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zawadi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zawadi 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 Zawadi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zawadi 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 Zawadi 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 have Zawadi as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.