Zayed
An Arabic name meaning "he who increases" or "prosperous".
Name Census estimates that about 373 living Americans carry the first name Zayed. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zayed today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zayed births was 2018 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zayed. 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 Zayed with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
373
~ 1 in 918,912 Americans
Peak year
2018
33 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,216
Tracked since 2000
Census
Zayed in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 306 people with the first name Zayed, which placed it at #29,088 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
#29,088
National first-name rank
People counted
306
306 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zayed
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zayed is White at 47.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.1%) and Black (10.8%). 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 Zayed 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 Zayed at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.1% · 144
- Asian and Pacific Islander28.1% · 86
- Black or African American10.8% · 33
- Two or more races7.2% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Zayed: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zayed from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 210 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zayed remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zayed 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 Zayed during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zayeds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, New York, California recorded the most babies named Zayed, while California, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zayed
The name Zayed is derived from the Arabic word "zayd," which means "increase" or "abundance." It is a masculine given name that has been used in the Arab world for centuries.
In Arabic culture, the name Zayed is associated with prosperity, growth, and fertility. It was commonly given to boys in the hope that they would grow up to be successful and prosperous individuals.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Zayed can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. In Surah Al-Ahzab (33:37), the name Zayd is mentioned as the name of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Zayed. One of the most famous was Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan (1918-2004), the founder and first President of the United Arab Emirates. He played a crucial role in uniting the seven emirates and establishing the UAE as a modern and prosperous nation.
Another prominent figure with the name Zayed was Zayed bin Shaker (1801-1856), a renowned Arab poet and scholar from Najd, Saudi Arabia. He was widely acclaimed for his contributions to Arabic literature and his mastery of the Arabic language.
In the 12th century, Zayed bin Husayn Al-Kufi (1088-1162) was a renowned Islamic scholar and theologian from Kufa, Iraq. He was known for his extensive knowledge of the Quran and Islamic jurisprudence, and his works were widely studied in the Islamic world.
Zayed bin Ali Al-Husayni (1588-1668) was a prominent Arab historian and scholar who lived in Damascus, Syria. He authored several books on the history of the Arab world, including a comprehensive work on the history of Damascus.
Zayed bin Muhammad Al-Wadi'i (1671-1718) was an influential Islamic scholar and Sufi mystic from Yemen. He was known for his poetry, which often explored themes of spirituality and divine love.
These are just a few examples of the many notable figures throughout history who have borne the name Zayed. The name has a rich heritage and continues to be widely used in the Arab world, carrying with it the connotations of abundance, prosperity, and growth.
People
Zayed + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zayed 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
Zayed: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zayed?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 373 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zayed 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 918,912 US residents.
Is Zayed a common name?
We classify Zayed as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 376 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zayed most popular?
The single biggest year for Zayed was 2018, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zayed is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zayed in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 306 people with the name Zayed, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,088 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 Zayed 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 Zayed?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zayed leans strongly male. 293 people counted with this name were male (97.0%), compared with 9 female bearers (3.0%). 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 Zayed?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zayed is White at 47.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.1%) and Black (10.8%). 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 Zayed most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zayed in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.1% (144 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 Zayed in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zayed a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zayed 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 Zayed still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zayed 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 Zayed 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 Zayed as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Zayed on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.