Zedekiah
A Hebrew masculine name meaning "the Lord is righteousness".
Name Census estimates that about 697 living Americans carry the first name Zedekiah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zedekiah today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zedekiah births was 2019 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zedekiah. 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
697
~ 1 in 491,757 Americans
Peak year
2019
43 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,881
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Zedekiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zedekiah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 306 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zedekiah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zedekiah 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 Zedekiah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zedekiahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Zedekiah, while Tennessee, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zedekiah
The name Zedekiah has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, and dates back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew words "tzedek" meaning "righteous" and "Yah" which is a shortened form of the name of the Hebrew God, Yahweh. The name can be translated to mean "Yahweh is righteous" or "the Lord is righteous."
Zedekiah is a name that appears frequently in the Hebrew Bible, particularly in the Books of Kings and Jeremiah. It was the name of the last king of Judah before the Babylonian exile, who reigned from around 597 to 586 BCE. The biblical account portrays Zedekiah as a weak and indecisive ruler who disobeyed the prophet Jeremiah's warnings, leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Zedekiah comes from the 6th century BCE, referring to the biblical king. However, the name likely existed earlier as a theophoric name, which was a common practice in ancient Hebrew culture, where names were often derived from the names of deities or incorporated attributes of the divine.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zedekiah. One of the most famous was Zedekiah ben Abraham Anaw (1115-1199), a prominent French rabbi and scholar who lived during the Middle Ages. Another notable figure was Zedekiah ben Abraham Anaw (1671-1736), an Italian rabbi and kabbalist who lived in the 18th century.
In more recent times, Zedekiah Omungo (1940-2003) was a Kenyan politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Zedekiah Ngavirue (born 1954) is a Namibian politician and activist who played a significant role in the country's independence struggle.
Zedekiah Kitioni (1932-2012) was a Kenyan politician and activist who fought for the rights of the Maasai people and served as a member of parliament. Zedekiah Manika (1957-2015) was a South African politician and member of the African National Congress (ANC) who played a role in the country's transition to democracy.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Zedekiah throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence and significance across various cultures and time periods.
People
Zedekiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zedekiah 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
Zedekiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zedekiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 697 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zedekiah 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 491,757 US residents.
Is Zedekiah a common name?
We classify Zedekiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 704 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zedekiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zedekiah was 2019, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zedekiah is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zedekiah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zedekiah 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.