Zeldy
A diminutive form of the Hebrew name Saldah, meaning "princess".
Name Census estimates that about 96 living Americans carry the first name Zeldy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zeldy today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zeldy births was 2020 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zeldy. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zeldy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
96
~ 1 in 3,570,358 Americans
Peak year
2020
12 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,563
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Zeldy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zeldy from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 33 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zeldy 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 Zeldy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zeldys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zeldy
The name Zeldy is believed to have originated from the Hebrew name Zelde or Tzelde, which means "shadow" or "shade." It is a feminine variation of the Hebrew name Tzalal, meaning "to shade" or "to protect." The name can be traced back to ancient times, with mentions in religious texts and historical records from the Middle East.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Zeldy can be found in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. In the Talmud, there is a reference to a woman named Zeldy who lived in the 2nd century CE. She was known for her wisdom and her contributions to the study of Jewish law.
During the Middle Ages, the name Zeldy was relatively uncommon but was still used in some Jewish communities across Europe. One notable figure was Zeldy ben Yitzhak, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Spain during the 12th century. He was renowned for his work on Jewish mysticism and his contributions to the field of Kabbalah.
In the 16th century, there was a famous Jewish poet named Zeldy ben Yehuda who lived in Italy. His works were widely acclaimed and helped to popularize the use of the name Zeldy among Italian Jews.
Another notable figure with the name Zeldy was Zeldy ben Avraham, a rabbi and scholar who lived in Poland in the 17th century. He was known for his expertise in Jewish law and his teachings on the Talmud.
In more recent times, one of the most famous people with the name Zeldy was Zeldy Kaplan, an American author and artist who lived from 1892 to 1974. She was best known for her children's books and her illustrations, which often depicted scenes from Jewish life and folklore.
While the name Zeldy has its roots in Hebrew and Jewish culture, it has been adopted and used by people of various backgrounds and ethnicities around the world. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name, particularly in modern times.
People
Zeldy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zeldy 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
Zeldy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zeldy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 96 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zeldy 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 3,570,358 US residents.
Is Zeldy a common name?
We classify Zeldy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 97 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zeldy most popular?
The single biggest year for Zeldy was 2020, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zeldy is about 11 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 Zeldy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zeldy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zeldy 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 Zeldy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zeldy 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 Zeldy 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 have the name Zeldy?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.