Zephon
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "watcher" or "vigilant".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Zephon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zephon today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zephon births was 2004 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zephon. 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 Zephon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2004
5 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2004 SSA rank
#13,212
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Zephon: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Zephon 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 Zephon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Zephon
The name Zephon likely originates from the Hebrew language, derived from the word "zephon," meaning "north." It was likely a name used in ancient Israelite culture, possibly appearing as early as the 8th century BCE.
Zephon is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Numbers as one of the sons of Gad, a figure in the Torah. This reference suggests the name was in use among the ancient Israelites during the biblical period.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Zephon was a Jewish scholar and scribe who lived in the 2nd century BCE in Alexandria, Egypt. He is credited with helping to translate the Septuagint, an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.
In the 2nd century CE, a Rabbi named Zephon ben Mattathias lived in Judea and is mentioned in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. He was known for his teachings on Jewish law and ethics.
During the Renaissance period, a Italian painter and architect named Zephon Zampieri, also known as Zephon Vari, lived in the 16th century. He is particularly noted for his work on the Palazzo Vari in Bologna, Italy.
In the 19th century, a British explorer and naturalist named Zephon William Kingdon traveled extensively in East Africa and made significant contributions to the study of the region's flora and fauna.
Another notable figure was Zephon D. Curley, an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York in the early 20th century, born in 1868 and died in 1945.
Throughout history, the name Zephon has maintained a connection to its Hebrew roots and biblical references, although it has also been adopted by individuals from various cultural backgrounds and time periods.
People
Zephon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zephon 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
Zephon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zephon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zephon 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Zephon a common name?
We classify Zephon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zephon most popular?
The single biggest year for Zephon was 2004, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zephon is about 22 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 Zephon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zephon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zephon in the SSA data are male. 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 Zephon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zephon 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 Zephon 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 common is the name Zephon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.