Zenith
The highest point or summit; the culminating point.
Name Census estimates that about 566 living Americans carry the first name Zenith. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 53.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Zenith today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zenith births was 2022 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zenith. 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 Zenith with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Zenith was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
566
~ 1 in 605,573 Americans
Peak year
2022
82 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,906
Tracked since 1897
Census
Zenith in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 617 people with the first name Zenith, which placed it at #17,717 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
#17,717
National first-name rank
People counted
617
617 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
34.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zenith
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zenith is White at 34.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.2%) and Black (19.9%). 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 Zenith 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 Zenith at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White34.4% · 212
- Asian and Pacific Islander23.2% · 143
- Black or African American19.9% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino16.4% · 101
- Two or more races4.9% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Zenith
Zenith is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 823 total registrations, 387 (47.0%) were male and 436 (53.0%) were female.
Zenith as a male name
- Ranked #2,906 in 2024
- 44 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (59 births)
Zenith as a female name
- Ranked #5,593 in 2024
- 23 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (25 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zenith on both sides of the split. Of the 617 people counted with this name, 245 were male (39.7%) and 372 were female (60.3%).
Popularity
Zenith: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zenith from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 307 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
Zenith 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 Zenith during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zeniths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Zenith, while Florida, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zenith
The given name Zenith originates from the Arabic word 'samt', meaning 'path' or 'way'. It was first used in reference to the highest point in the celestial sphere, directly above the observer. The name gained popularity in the 17th century, particularly in Europe, where it was adopted as a symbolic representation of the highest point of achievement or success.
In the realm of astronomy, the term 'zenith' has been extensively used since ancient times. It is mentioned in various historical texts, including the works of Ptolemy, the renowned Greek astronomer and mathematician who lived in the 2nd century AD. The concept of the zenith played a significant role in the development of celestial navigation and the study of celestial bodies.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Zenith as a given name dates back to the 16th century. Zenith Bourgogne, a French nobleman born in 1542, was among the first individuals to bear this name. However, it wasn't until the 18th and 19th centuries that the name gained wider popularity across various cultures and regions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zenith. One such figure was Zenith Aksamit (1904-1975), a Polish-American engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the field of aviation. Another notable bearer of this name was Zenith Buchanan (1879-1963), a British colonial administrator who served in various parts of the British Empire, including India and Africa.
In the literary world, Zenith Virago (1892-1971) was a renowned American novelist and poet, known for her works exploring themes of identity and social justice. Zenith Pettis (1921-2003), an American civil rights activist and educator, played a pivotal role in the fight for racial equality and desegregation in the United States.
Lastly, Zenith Rembrandt (1906-1998), a Dutch painter and sculptor, gained international recognition for his avant-garde artistic creations, which challenged conventional norms and pushed the boundaries of contemporary art.
While the name Zenith may have originated from an astronomical term, its symbolic meaning of reaching the highest point of achievement or success has resonated across various cultures and time periods, making it a popular choice for parents seeking a unique and inspiring name for their children.
People
Zenith + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zenith 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
Zenith: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zenith?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 566 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zenith 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 605,573 US residents.
Is Zenith a common name?
We classify Zenith as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 823 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zenith most popular?
The single biggest year for Zenith was 2022, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zenith is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zenith in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 617 people with the name Zenith, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,717 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 Zenith 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 Zenith?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zenith on both sides of the split. Of the 617 people counted with this name, 245 were male (39.7%) and 372 were female (60.3%). 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 Zenith?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zenith is White at 34.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.2%) and Black (19.9%). 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 Zenith most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zenith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 34.4% (212 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 Zenith in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zenith a female name?
Yes, 53.0% of people registered as Zenith 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 Zenith still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zenith 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 Zenith 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 the name Zenith?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.