Zeffie
A feminine diminutive form of the name Josephine, of French origin.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Zeffie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zeffie today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zeffie births was 1927 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zeffie. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Zeffie is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Zeffies were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zeffie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1927
12 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1948 SSA rank
#6,038
Tracked since 1892
Popularity
Zeffie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zeffie from the 1890s through to the 1940s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 44 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zeffie 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 Zeffie 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 Zeffie
The name Zeffie is a diminutive form of the Greek name Zephyrus, which was the name of the Greek god of the western wind. The name Zephyrus is derived from the Greek word "zephyros," meaning "west wind." It is believed that the name Zeffie originated in the late 19th or early 20th century as a pet form of the name Zephyrus.
While there are no known historical references to the name Zeffie in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the name Zephyrus appears frequently in Greek mythology and literature. In Greek mythology, Zephyrus was one of the four Anemoi, or wind gods, and was often depicted as a winged youth.
The earliest recorded example of the name Zeffie is from the late 19th century, when it began to appear in birth records in the United States and Britain. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Zeffie was Zeffie Tilbury, an English actress who was born in 1863 and died in 1950.
Another notable individual with the name Zeffie was Zeffie Allene Hight, an American politician who served as the first female mayor of Clarksville, Tennessee, from 1915 to 1919. She was born in 1874 and died in 1952.
Zeffie Annie Armstrong, an American author and editor, was born in 1886 and died in 1958. She was best known for her work with the Baptist Sunday School Board and her contributions to religious education materials.
Zeffie Massey, an American artist and illustrator, was born in 1910 and died in 2003. She was known for her illustrations in children's books and her work for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post.
Zeffie Winogrand, an American photographer, was born in 1920 and died in 2018. She was known for her street photography and her collaborations with her husband, the renowned photographer Garry Winogrand.
People
Zeffie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zeffie 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
Zeffie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zeffie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zeffie 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Zeffie a common name?
We classify Zeffie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 130 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zeffie most popular?
The single biggest year for Zeffie was 1927, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zeffie is about 83 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 Zeffie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zeffie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zeffie 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 Zeffie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zeffie 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 Zeffie 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 many people are named Zeffie?
Find out how many Americans are named Zeffie on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.