Zela
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "zeal" or "ardor".
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Zela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zela today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zela births was 1916 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zela. 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
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
1916
21 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,218
Tracked since 1889
Census
Zela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 292 people with the first name Zela, which placed it at #30,039 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
#30,039
National first-name rank
People counted
292
292 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zela is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Black (14.0%). 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 Zela 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 Zela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.5% · 165
- Hispanic or Latino21.9% · 64
- Black or African American14.0% · 41
- Two or more races4.5% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Zela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zela from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 142 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Zela remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zela 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 Zela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zelas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zela
The name Zela is believed to have its origins in the ancient Greek language, with roots dating back to the classical era. It is derived from the Greek word "zelē," which means "ardent zeal" or "fervent devotion." This connection suggests that the name Zela may have been bestowed upon individuals who exhibited exceptional passion or dedication to a particular cause or pursuit.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zela can be found in ancient Greek mythology. Zela was a minor goddess associated with the concept of zeal or ardor, often depicted as a companion to the more prominent deities. However, her precise role and significance within the Greek pantheon remain somewhat obscure due to the limited surviving accounts.
In the realm of historical figures, one notable individual bearing the name Zela was Zela of Tralles, a female philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 5th century CE. She was renowned for her contributions to the field of geometry and was praised by contemporaries for her intellectual prowess.
Another individual of note was Zela of Byzantium, a Byzantine scholar and theologian from the 9th century CE. She was recognized for her extensive knowledge of Christian theology and her involvement in various theological debates of the time.
During the medieval period, the name Zela gained some recognition among certain European noble families. One prominent example was Zela of Anjou, a French noblewoman from the 13th century who played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
In the literary realm, the name Zela appeared in several works of fiction, although its use was relatively limited. One notable instance was in the novel "The Ardent Zealot" by the 19th-century author, William Makepeace Thackeray, where the protagonist bore the name Zela.
While not as widely popular as some other names, Zela has maintained a certain historical presence, primarily associated with notions of zeal, passion, and dedication. Its Greek origins and connection to ancient mythology and philosophy have contributed to its enduring significance, even if its usage has been relatively modest throughout history.
People
Zela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zela 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
Zela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zela 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 Zela a common name?
We classify Zela 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, 597 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zela most popular?
The single biggest year for Zela was 1916, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zela is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 292 people with the name Zela, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,039 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 Zela 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 Zela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zela leans strongly female. 284 people counted with this name were female (95.6%), compared with 13 male bearers (4.4%). 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 Zela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zela is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Black (14.0%). 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 Zela most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.5% (165 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 Zela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zela 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 Zela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zela 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 Zela 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 many people are named Zela?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.