Zendayah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful winner".
Name Census estimates that about 194 living Americans carry the first name Zendayah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zendayah today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zendayah births was 2016 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zendayah. 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 Zendayah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
194
~ 1 in 1,766,775 Americans
Peak year
2016
22 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,059
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Zendayah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zendayah from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 138 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zendayah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zendayah 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 Zendayah 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 Zendayah
The name Zendayah is believed to have originated from the Shona language, which is primarily spoken in Zimbabwe and parts of neighboring countries in southern Africa. The Shona people have a rich cultural heritage that dates back several centuries.
The name Zendayah is derived from the Shona word "zendaya," which means "to give thanks" or "to be grateful." This suggests that the name may have been given to children as a way of expressing gratitude or appreciation, perhaps for their safe arrival or as a blessing.
While the exact origin and earliest recorded use of the name Zendayah are uncertain, it is possible that it has been in use among the Shona people for centuries. However, no specific historical references or mentions in ancient texts have been found.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Zendayah was Zendayah Makoni, a Shona chief who ruled over the Makoni people in what is now eastern Zimbabwe in the late 18th century. She was known for her leadership and diplomatic skills, and her reign was marked by peace and prosperity.
Another notable figure with the name Zendayah was Zendayah Mutambara, a Shona artist and sculptor who lived in the early 20th century. Her work was heavily influenced by traditional Shona art and culture, and she is considered one of the pioneers of modern Zimbabwean art.
In more recent times, the name Zendayah gained wider recognition with the rise of American actress and singer Zendaya Coleman, born in 1996. She is known for her roles in films and television shows, as well as her music career.
Other individuals who have borne the name Zendayah include Zendayah Mapuranga, a Zimbabwean politician and activist who fought for women's rights in the late 20th century, and Zendayah Mushore, a Zimbabwean writer and poet who published several collections of poetry in the 1980s and 1990s.
While the name Zendayah may have originated in southern Africa and had its roots in the Shona language and culture, it has since gained popularity and recognition around the world, particularly in the United States and other Western countries.
People
Zendayah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zendayah 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
Zendayah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zendayah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zendayah 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 1,766,775 US residents.
Is Zendayah a common name?
We classify Zendayah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 195 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zendayah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zendayah was 2016, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zendayah is about 8 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 Zendayah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zendayah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zendayah 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 Zendayah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zendayah 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 Zendayah 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 Zendayah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.