Zoel
A Biblical name derived from the Hebrew word "zael", meaning "to stray".
Name Census estimates that about 147 living Americans carry the first name Zoel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Zoel today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zoel births was 2023 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zoel. 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.
People living today
147
~ 1 in 2,331,662 Americans
Peak year
2023
15 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,944
Tracked since 2007
Census
Zoel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 201 people with the first name Zoel, which placed it at #38,294 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
#38,294
National first-name rank
People counted
201
201 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
44.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zoel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoel is Hispanic at 44.8%. The next largest groups are White (29.4%) and Black (18.9%). 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 Zoel 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 Zoel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino44.8% · 90
- White29.4% · 59
- Black or African American18.9% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 9
- Two or more races1.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Zoel
Zoel is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 148 total registrations, 112 (75.7%) were male and 36 (24.3%) were female.
Zoel as a male name
- Ranked #8,944 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (15 births)
Zoel as a female name
- Ranked #12,438 in 2019
- 8 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zoel on both sides of the split. Of the 204 people counted with this name, 134 were male (65.7%) and 70 were female (34.3%).
Popularity
Zoel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zoel from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 78 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zoel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zoel 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 Zoel 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 Zoel
The name Zoel is a unique and intriguing one, with its origins shrouded in mystery and intrigue. It is believed to have its roots in ancient Sumerian culture, which flourished in the region of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around the 4th millennium BC. Linguists have traced the name back to the Sumerian word "zu-el," meaning "life-giver" or "bringer of life."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zoel can be found in the Sumerian cuneiform tablets, which document the lives and deeds of various historical figures. These ancient clay tablets, dating back to the 3rd millennium BC, mention a high priestess named Zoel, who was revered for her wisdom and her ability to interpret the will of the gods.
As time passed, the name Zoel seems to have spread across various cultures and civilizations. In the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, a scribe named Zoel is mentioned in hieroglyphic inscriptions from the 18th Dynasty (c. 1550-1295 BC). His writings are believed to have been instrumental in preserving the knowledge and traditions of the Egyptian people.
During the Byzantine era, a prominent scholar and theologian named Zoel lived in the 6th century AD. He is credited with writing several treatises on the nature of the soul and the divine, which heavily influenced the philosophical and religious thought of his time.
In the Middle Ages, a French nobleman named Zoel de Montfort (1162-1233) gained fame for his military exploits during the Albigensian Crusade. He was a fierce warrior and a loyal servant to the Catholic Church, playing a significant role in the suppression of the Cathar heresy in southern France.
Another notable figure bearing the name Zoel was a 16th-century Italian artist and sculptor named Zoel Caliari (1530-1596). His intricate marble and bronze works adorned many of the grand churches and palaces of Renaissance Italy, earning him widespread acclaim and patronage from the noble families of the time.
While the name Zoel may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and fascinating origins continue to captivate those who delve into the realms of ancient cultures and civilizations. Its enduring legacy serves as a testament to the diversity and beauty of names across the ages.
People
Zoel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zoel 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
Zoel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zoel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 147 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zoel 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 2,331,662 US residents.
Is Zoel a common name?
We classify Zoel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 148 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zoel most popular?
The single biggest year for Zoel was 2023, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zoel is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zoel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 201 people with the name Zoel, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,294 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 Zoel 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 Zoel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Zoel on both sides of the split. Of the 204 people counted with this name, 134 were male (65.7%) and 70 were female (34.3%). 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 Zoel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoel is Hispanic at 44.8%. The next largest groups are White (29.4%) and Black (18.9%). 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 Zoel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zoel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.8% (90 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 Zoel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zoel a male name?
Yes, 75.7% of people registered as Zoel 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 Zoel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zoel 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 Zoel 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 common is the name Zoel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.