Zimal
An Arabic name meaning "companion" or "friend".
Name Census estimates that about 267 living Americans carry the first name Zimal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zimal today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zimal births was 2022 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zimal. 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 Zimal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
267
~ 1 in 1,283,724 Americans
Peak year
2022
52 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,938
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Zimal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zimal from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 166 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
Zimal 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 Zimal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zimals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Zimal, while New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zimal
The name Zimal is thought to have originated from the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known civilizations located in the region of modern-day Iraq. The name is believed to be derived from the Sumerian word "zim," which means "to live" or "life," and the suffix "-al," which was commonly used to form personal names.
One of the earliest known references to the name Zimal can be found in a cuneiform tablet dating back to around 2500 BCE, which recorded the name of a Sumerian scribe. This suggests that the name was in use during the early stages of written language and civilization in Mesopotamia.
In ancient Sumerian mythology, Zimal was also the name of a minor deity associated with fertility and agricultural abundance. This association with life and growth may have contributed to the popularity of the name among the ancient Sumerians.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zimal. One of the earliest recorded examples is Zimal of Uruk, a renowned poet and scholar who lived in the city of Uruk (modern-day Warka, Iraq) around 2300 BCE. His works, including epic poems and hymns, are considered among the earliest known examples of written literature.
Another prominent figure was Zimal the Wise, a Sumerian philosopher and teacher who lived in the city of Nippur (modern-day Nuffar, Iraq) around 2100 BCE. He was renowned for his teachings on ethics, morality, and the nature of existence, which were highly influential in shaping the intellectual and philosophical traditions of ancient Mesopotamia.
During the later Babylonian period, around 1800 BCE, a high-ranking official named Zimal-Marduk served as a vizier (prime minister) under King Hammurabi. He is credited with overseeing the implementation of Hammurabi's famous code of laws, which established a comprehensive legal system in ancient Babylon.
In the realm of ancient Egyptian history, a notable figure named Zimal-Kheper lived during the 18th Dynasty (circa 1550-1292 BCE). He was a high priest and an influential advisor to Pharaoh Akhenaten, known for his role in promoting the controversial religious reforms of the Amarna Period.
The name Zimal also appears in ancient Greek sources, where it is recorded as the name of a philosopher and mathematician from the city of Miletus (modern-day Turkey) who lived around 500 BCE. Although little is known about his life and works, he is mentioned by several ancient authors as a prominent thinker of his time.
While the name Zimal has fallen out of common use in modern times, its ancient origins and historical significance serve as a testament to the rich cultural heritage and linguistic diversity of the civilizations that once thrived in the cradle of human civilization.
People
Zimal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zimal 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
Zimal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zimal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 267 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zimal 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 1,283,724 US residents.
Is Zimal a common name?
We classify Zimal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 269 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zimal most popular?
The single biggest year for Zimal was 2022, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zimal is about 6 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 Zimal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zimal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zimal 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 Zimal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zimal 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 Zimal 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 Zimal?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Zimal, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.