Zenaida
From the Greek name Zenais, which derives from the word zenaō meaning "foreigner".
Name Census estimates that about 2,511 living Americans carry the first name Zenaida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zenaida today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zenaida births was 2023 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zenaida. 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 Zenaida with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 136,501 Americans
Peak year
2023
76 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,261
Tracked since 1913
Census
Zenaida in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,717 people with the first name Zenaida, which placed it at #2,233 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
#2,233
National first-name rank
People counted
12K
11,717 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
58.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zenaida
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zenaida is Hispanic at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.4%) and White (1.5%). 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 Zenaida 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 Zenaida at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino58.5% · 6,851
- Asian and Pacific Islander38.4% · 4,496
- White1.5% · 177
- Black or African American0.9% · 101
- Two or more races0.7% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 11
Popularity
Zenaida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zenaida from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 393 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Zenaida remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zenaida 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 Zenaida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zenaidas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Zenaida, while Washington, New Mexico, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 155 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zenaida
The name Zenaida has its origins in the Greek language, deriving from the Greek word "zenaidios" which means "belonging to Zeus." Zeus was the supreme deity in ancient Greek mythology, revered as the god of the sky and thunder. This connection to the chief god of the Greek pantheon suggests the name Zenaida was associated with power, strength, and divine favor from its earliest roots.
Historically, the name Zenaida appears to have been in use among the ancient Greeks, although definitive records of its earliest usage are scarce. It is believed to have been a relatively uncommon name in classical Greek society, perhaps reserved for those of noble or privileged status due to its lofty connotations.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Zenaida was a Byzantine Empress who lived in the 5th century AD. Zenaida was the second wife of the Eastern Roman Emperor Basiliscus, who reigned briefly in 475-476 AD. While her reign was short-lived, her name has been preserved in historical accounts of the Byzantine Empire.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Zenaida Calderón emerged as a prominent poet and writer in Spain. She was born in Seville in 1568 and gained recognition for her literary works, which explored themes of love, religion, and the human condition. Calderón's contributions helped solidify the name Zenaida in Spanish culture.
Moving forward in time, Zenaida Gonzalez Camprubi was a Cuban-born artist and writer who lived from 1804 to 1863. She was known for her intricate embroidery work and her poetic writings, which celebrated her love for her homeland and its natural beauty. Gonzalez Camprubi's work helped keep the name Zenaida alive in Latin American culture during the 19th century.
Another notable bearer of the name was Zenaida Gurievich, a Russian-born American artist and sculptor who lived from 1922 to 2009. Her abstract and modernist sculptures gained international recognition, and she was celebrated for her innovative use of materials and forms. Gurievich's artistic legacy helped introduce the name Zenaida to a wider global audience in the 20th century.
Finally, Zenaida Yanowsky is a contemporary Spanish-born prima ballerina who has graced the stages of renowned ballet companies around the world. Born in 1976, Yanowsky's exceptional talent and grace as a dancer have brought the name Zenaida into the spotlight once again, showcasing its enduring beauty and elegance.
People
Zenaida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zenaida 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
Zenaida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zenaida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,511 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zenaida 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 136,501 US residents.
Is Zenaida a common name?
We classify Zenaida as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,929 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zenaida most popular?
The single biggest year for Zenaida was 2023, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zenaida is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zenaida in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,717 people with the name Zenaida, or 3.88 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,233 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 Zenaida 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 Zenaida?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zenaida appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,715 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Zenaida?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zenaida is Hispanic at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.4%) and White (1.5%). 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 Zenaida most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zenaida in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.5% (6,851 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 Zenaida in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zenaida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zenaida 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 Zenaida still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zenaida 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 Zenaida 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 have Zenaida as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.