Zebedee
He who bestows gifts, referring to the gift of a son.
Name Census estimates that about 840 living Americans carry the first name Zebedee. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zebedee today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zebedee births was 2024 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zebedee. 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
840
~ 1 in 408,041 Americans
Peak year
2024
37 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,261
Tracked since 1907
Popularity
Zebedee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zebedee from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 173 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Zebedee remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zebedee 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 Zebedee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zebedees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Zebedee, while North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zebedee
The given name Zebedee has its origins in Ancient Greek and Aramaic languages. It is derived from the Hebrew name Zabdai, which means "gift of God" or "endowment of God". The name Zabdai is mentioned in the New Testament as the father of the apostles James and John.
Zebedee first appeared in the biblical texts of the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel of Luke. It is believed that Zebedee was a fisherman from the village of Bethsaida, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. He was the husband of Salome and the father of the apostles James and John, who were among the first disciples called by Jesus.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Zebedee is found in the Bible, specifically in the New Testament. The name is mentioned in the following verses: Matthew 4:21, Mark 1:19-20, and Luke 5:10. These verses describe the calling of James and John by Jesus while they were fishing with their father, Zebedee.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zebedee. One of the most famous was Zebedee, the father of the apostles James and John, who lived in the 1st century AD. Another notable figure was Zebedee Craft (c. 1779-1847), an American pioneer and explorer who was one of the founders of the city of Nashville, Tennessee.
Another individual named Zebedee was Zebedee Coltrin (1804-1887), an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the Council of Fifty. Zebedee Weston (1809-1856) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University and represented the Cambridge Town Club.
Lastly, Zebedee Crutchfield (1812-1887) was an American politician who served as a member of the Mississippi State Legislature and fought in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.
People
Zebedee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zebedee 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
Zebedee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zebedee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 840 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zebedee 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 408,041 US residents.
Is Zebedee a common name?
We classify Zebedee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,256 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zebedee most popular?
The single biggest year for Zebedee was 2024, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zebedee is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zebedee a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zebedee 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.
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.