Ziva
A Hebrew name meaning "radiance," "brilliance," or "light."
Name Census estimates that about 2,642 living Americans carry the first name Ziva. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ziva today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ziva births was 2011 (192 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ziva. 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 Ziva with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Ziva is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.6K
~ 1 in 129,733 Americans
Peak year
2011
192 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,432
Tracked since 1960
Census
Ziva in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,861 people with the first name Ziva, which placed it at #7,933 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
#7,933
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,861 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ziva
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ziva is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.0%). 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 Ziva 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 Ziva at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.8% · 1,076
- Hispanic or Latino13.6% · 254
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.0% · 224
- Two or more races8.7% · 161
- Black or African American7.0% · 130
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 16
Popularity
Ziva: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ziva from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,599 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ziva remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ziva 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 Ziva during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zivas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Ziva, while Nevada, Nebraska, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ziva
The name Ziva has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "ziv," which means "radiance" or "brilliance." The name is believed to have been in use since ancient times, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the biblical period.
In the Old Testament, Ziva is mentioned as one of the sons of Simeon, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This reference suggests that the name has been in use for at least three thousand years. Additionally, the name appears in various Jewish texts and historical records throughout the centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ziva was Ziva ben Kenaz, a Jewish scholar and leader who lived in the 2nd century CE. He is known for his contributions to the study of the Torah and the development of Jewish law.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ziva was prevalent among Jewish communities in Europe and the Middle East. One notable figure was Ziva ben Yaakov, a 13th-century Jewish philosopher and theologian from Spain. He is best known for his work on reconciling Jewish religious teachings with Aristotelian philosophy.
In more recent history, Ziva has been a popular name among Jewish communities worldwide. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Ziva Galili, an Israeli politician and social activist who was born in 1929 and passed away in 2018. She was a prominent figure in the Israeli Labor Party and served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) for several terms.
Another notable individual with the name Ziva is Ziva Amir, an Israeli actress born in 1961. She is best known for her roles in various Israeli television series and films, and has received several awards for her performances.
Ziva Postec, born in 1949, is a renowned Israeli writer and poet. Her works explore themes of identity, feminism, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She has published numerous collections of poetry and has won several prestigious literary awards.
While the name Ziva has its roots in Hebrew and Jewish culture, it has gained popularity across various cultures and communities around the world. The name's meaning of "radiance" or "brilliance" has resonated with many parents, making it a popular choice for their children.
People
Ziva + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ziva 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
Ziva: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ziva?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,642 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ziva 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 129,733 US residents.
Is Ziva a common name?
We classify Ziva as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,669 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ziva most popular?
The single biggest year for Ziva was 2011, when 192 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ziva is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ziva in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,861 people with the name Ziva, or 0.62 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,933 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 Ziva 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 Ziva?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ziva appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,877 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Ziva?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ziva is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.0%). 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 Ziva most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ziva in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (1,076 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 Ziva in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ziva a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ziva 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 Ziva still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ziva 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 Ziva 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 Ziva?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.