Zenida
A feminine name meaning "prosperous" or "lucky".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Zenida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zenida today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zenida births was 1982 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zenida. 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 Zenida. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1982
5 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2016 SSA rank
#18,833
Tracked since 1982
Census
Zenida in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 173 people with the first name Zenida, which placed it at #41,949 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
#41,949
National first-name rank
People counted
173
173 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
71.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zenida
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zenida is Hispanic at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.2%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Zenida 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 Zenida at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino71.7% · 124
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.2% · 35
- Black or African American3.5% · 6
- White2.9% · 5
- Two or more races1.7% · 3
Popularity
Zenida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zenida from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 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
Zenida 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 Zenida 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 Zenida
The given name Zenida has its origins in Ancient Greek, deriving from the word "xenis" meaning "foreign" or "strange." It is believed to have emerged as a name during the Hellenistic period, which spanned from the 4th to the 1st century BCE. Zenida was initially popular among the Greeks, particularly in regions around the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zenida can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, who mentioned a woman by this name in his work "Parallel Lives." This text, written in the late 1st century CE, provides valuable insights into the use of the name during that era.
In the 3rd century CE, a notable figure named Zenida of Thessalonica was recorded in historical records as a influential Christian martyr. She was persecuted and ultimately executed for her beliefs during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
Centuries later, during the Byzantine Empire, a renowned scholar and philosopher named Zenida of Constantinople gained recognition for her contributions to the study of rhetoric and philosophy. She lived in the 9th century CE and was celebrated for her intellectual prowess.
Moving forward in time, in the 14th century, a woman named Zenida de Montferrat was a prominent figure in the court of the Kingdom of Aragon. She served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Sibila and played a significant role in the cultural and social life of the royal court.
Another notable figure bearing the name Zenida was a 16th-century Italian painter, Zenida Caliari, who was active in the Venetian school of art. Although not as famous as her contemporaries, her works were praised for their attention to detail and skillful use of color.
Throughout history, the name Zenida has been borne by several individuals who left their mark in various fields, including religion, philosophy, arts, and literature. Despite its ancient Greek roots, the name has been embraced by diverse cultures, reflecting its enduring appeal and unique character.
People
Zenida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zenida 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
Zenida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zenida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zenida 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Zenida a common name?
We classify Zenida as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zenida most popular?
The single biggest year for Zenida was 1982, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zenida 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 Zenida in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 173 people with the name Zenida, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,949 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 Zenida 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 Zenida?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zenida appears almost entirely female. Of the 169 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Zenida?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zenida is Hispanic at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.2%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Zenida most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zenida in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.7% (124 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 Zenida in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zenida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zenida 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 Zenida still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zenida 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 Zenida 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 share the name Zenida?
Want to know how many people share the name Zenida? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.