Zeeva
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "the splendor" or "brilliance".
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Zeeva. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zeeva today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zeeva births was 2017 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zeeva. 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 Zeeva with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
2017
15 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,058
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Zeeva: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zeeva 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 91 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zeeva remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zeeva 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 Zeeva 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 Zeeva
The name Zeeva is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was spoken in ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "jiva," which means "life" or "soul." The name can be traced back to the Vedic period, which dates from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Zeeva can be found in the Upanishads, which are ancient Hindu philosophical texts. In these texts, the concept of "jiva" is discussed in relation to the idea of the individual soul and its connection to the divine.
In the 8th century CE, there was a famous Indian scholar and philosopher named Zeeva Gosvami, who wrote extensively on the Vedanta philosophy. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism.
Another notable figure with the name Zeeva was Zeeva Shankar, an Indian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 9th century CE. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics, particularly in the area of trigonometry.
In the 12th century, there was a Sanskrit poet named Zeeva Goswami, who was renowned for his devotional poetry dedicated to the Hindu deity Krishna. His works are still widely studied and recited in many parts of India.
During the 16th century, a Hindu philosopher named Zeeva Nath Kaviraj gained prominence for his writings on the Vedanta philosophy. He is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Bhakti movement, which emphasized devotion and love for the divine.
Throughout history, the name Zeeva has been associated with spiritual seekers, philosophers, and scholars in various regions of the Indian subcontinent. While its exact origins may be difficult to pinpoint, the name carries a rich cultural and philosophical significance rooted in the ancient Sanskrit tradition.
People
Zeeva + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zeeva 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
Zeeva: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zeeva?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zeeva 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 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Zeeva a common name?
We classify Zeeva as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 141 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zeeva most popular?
The single biggest year for Zeeva was 2017, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zeeva is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Zeeva in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zeeva a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zeeva 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 Zeeva still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zeeva 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 Zeeva 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Zeeva?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Zeeva at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.