Zeanna
A feminine name possibly of Greek origin, potentially meaning "life".
Name Census estimates that about 192 living Americans carry the first name Zeanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zeanna today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zeanna births was 2021 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zeanna. 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.
People living today
192
~ 1 in 1,785,179 Americans
Peak year
2021
25 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,595
Tracked since 1996
Census
Zeanna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 153 people with the first name Zeanna, which placed it at #44,840 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
#44,840
National first-name rank
People counted
153
153 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
34.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zeanna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zeanna is White at 34.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.1%) and Black (27.5%). 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 Zeanna 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 Zeanna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White34.6% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino30.1% · 46
- Black or African American27.5% · 42
- Two or more races7.2% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Zeanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zeanna from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 64 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
Zeanna 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 Zeanna 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 Zeanna
Zeanna is a name of uncertain origin, with no definitive historical records or references to its derivation or meaning. It is a relatively uncommon name, and its exact cultural or linguistic roots are unclear.
The name Zeanna may be a variant or combination of other names, such as Zena or Zeena, which have roots in Greek and Arabic languages. In Greek, the name Zena is derived from the word "zēnai," meaning "to live," suggesting a connection to life or vitality. In Arabic, the name Zeena can be translated as "adornment" or "beauty," indicating a potential association with physical attractiveness or grace.
While there are no known ancient texts or religious scriptures that directly reference the name Zeanna, some historical figures have borne similar names. One notable example is Zeno of Elea, a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived around 490-430 BCE and is known for his paradoxes related to motion and infinity.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Zeanna are relatively modern, with a few examples found in various historical records from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One such individual was Zeanna Gentry, an American author and educator who lived from 1854 to 1941 and wrote several books on teaching methods and educational philosophy.
Another notable figure with the name Zeanna was Zeanna Louise Schoellkopf, an American philanthropist and socialite born in 1908 in Buffalo, New York. She was known for her charitable work and support of various cultural and educational institutions.
In the literary realm, Zeanna Glenister was an English writer and novelist active in the early 20th century, publishing works such as "The Winds of Heaven" and "The Changing Wind" between the 1920s and 1940s.
Additionally, Zeanna Chisholm was a Scottish educator and author who lived from 1867 to 1947 and wrote several books on teaching methods and child development.
Finally, Zeanna Taylor was an American stage actress and performer who appeared in Broadway productions and vaudeville shows in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, though specific details about her life and career are scarce.
While the name Zeanna is relatively rare, these historical figures serve as examples of individuals who have borne this unique and intriguing name throughout the past two centuries.
People
Zeanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zeanna 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
Zeanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zeanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 192 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zeanna 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 1,785,179 US residents.
Is Zeanna a common name?
We classify Zeanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 194 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zeanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Zeanna was 2021, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zeanna is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zeanna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 153 people with the name Zeanna, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,840 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 Zeanna 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 Zeanna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zeanna leans strongly female. 156 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Zeanna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zeanna is White at 34.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.1%) and Black (27.5%). 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 Zeanna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zeanna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 34.6% (53 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 Zeanna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zeanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zeanna 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 Zeanna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zeanna 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 Zeanna 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 common is the name Zeanna?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Zeanna at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.