Zuley
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly derived from Arabic.
Name Census estimates that about 158 living Americans carry the first name Zuley. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zuley today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zuley births was 2013 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zuley. 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
158
~ 1 in 2,169,331 Americans
Peak year
2013
17 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,239
Tracked since 2008
Census
Zuley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 185 people with the first name Zuley, which placed it at #40,305 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
#40,305
National first-name rank
People counted
185
185 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
92.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zuley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zuley is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Black (2.2%). 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 Zuley 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 Zuley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.4% · 171
- White2.7% · 5
- Black or African American2.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Popularity
Zuley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zuley 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 100 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zuley remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zuley 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 Zuley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zuleys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zuley
The name Zuley is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian civilization, which flourished in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 4500-1900 BC. It is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "zul," meaning "to protect" or "to shelter." The name may have been given to children as a symbol of hope for their safety and well-being.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zuley can be found in a cuneiform tablet from the city of Uruk, dated around 2500 BC. This tablet contains a list of names, including Zuley, which was likely used for a person of importance or a member of the ruling class.
In ancient Sumerian mythology, there are references to a goddess named Zuley, who was associated with healing and protection. Some scholars believe that the name may have been inspired by this deity, as it was common for ancient cultures to name their children after deities or mythological figures.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Zuley. One of the earliest recorded was Zuley of Nippur, a high priestess who lived in the city of Nippur (modern-day Iraq) during the 3rd millennium BC. She was renowned for her wisdom and her dedication to the temple of the god Enlil.
Another historically significant figure was Zuley the Scribe, who lived in the city of Babylon during the reign of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). Zuley was a skilled scribe and scholar, and is credited with transcribing and preserving many of the ancient texts and records from that era.
In the 5th century BC, there was a Greek philosopher named Zuley of Croton, who was a follower of the Pythagorean school of thought. He is believed to have made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy, although few of his writings have survived.
During the Middle Ages, there was a Persian poet and mystic named Zuley of Shiraz, who lived in the 13th century. His poems and teachings on Sufism and spiritual enlightenment were widely celebrated and influential in the Islamic world.
Finally, in the 16th century, there was a Spanish explorer and navigator named Zuley de Mendoza, who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous voyage around the world. Zuley played a crucial role in navigating the treacherous waters of the Pacific Ocean and helped to establish trade routes between Europe and the Far East.
People
Zuley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zuley 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
Zuley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zuley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 158 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zuley 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 2,169,331 US residents.
Is Zuley a common name?
We classify Zuley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 159 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zuley most popular?
The single biggest year for Zuley was 2013, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zuley 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 Zuley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 185 people with the name Zuley, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,305 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 Zuley 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 Zuley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zuley leans strongly female. 176 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Zuley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zuley is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Black (2.2%). 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 Zuley most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zuley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (171 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 Zuley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zuley a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zuley 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 Zuley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zuley 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 Zuley 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 Zuley?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Zuley at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.