Zunilda
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Germanic elements meaning "victory" and "battle".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Zunilda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zunilda today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zunilda births was 1982 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zunilda. 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 Zunilda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1982
6 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1982 SSA rank
#10,515
Tracked since 1982
Census
Zunilda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 769 people with the first name Zunilda, which placed it at #15,074 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
#15,074
National first-name rank
People counted
769
769 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zunilda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zunilda is Hispanic at 98.7%. The next largest groups are Black (0.8%) and White (0.5%). 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 Zunilda 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 Zunilda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.7% · 759
- Black or African American0.8% · 6
- White0.5% · 4
Popularity
Zunilda: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Zunilda 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 Zunilda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Zunilda
The name Zunilda is believed to have originated in the Visigothic language spoken in the Iberian Peninsula during the 5th to 8th centuries AD. It is a combination of the Germanic elements "zuna" meaning "to protect" and "hilda" meaning "battle." Together, the name Zunilda can be interpreted as "protector in battle."
The earliest known use of the name Zunilda dates back to the 6th century, when it was recorded as the name of a Visigothic princess. This suggests that the name was likely popular among the Visigothic nobility and ruling classes of the time.
In the 8th century, the name Zunilda appeared in the Codex Vigilanus, an important manuscript from the Visigothic period. This further reinforces the name's historical roots in the Iberian Peninsula during the early medieval period.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Zunilda was a Visigothic noblewoman who lived in the 7th century. She was the wife of King Recceswinth and played a prominent role in the political affairs of the Visigothic Kingdom.
Another notable Zunilda was a 9th-century Benedictine abbess of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Vimieiro in northern Portugal. She was revered for her piety and leadership within the religious community.
In the 12th century, a Zunilda was mentioned in the Codex Calixtinus, a historical record of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. This Zunilda was a wealthy patron who commissioned the construction of a hostel for pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago.
During the 13th century, a Zunilda de Lara was recorded as a noble lady in the court of King Alfonso X of Castile. She was known for her influence and patronage of the arts and literature.
In the 15th century, a Zunilda de Guzmán was a prominent figure in the court of Queen Isabella I of Castile. She served as a lady-in-waiting and trusted confidante to the Queen.
While the name Zunilda has its roots in the Visigothic and medieval Iberian cultures, it has largely fallen out of common use in modern times. However, its historical significance and unique etymology make it a fascinating name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Zunilda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zunilda 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
Zunilda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zunilda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zunilda 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Zunilda a common name?
We classify Zunilda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zunilda most popular?
The single biggest year for Zunilda was 1982, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zunilda is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zunilda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 769 people with the name Zunilda, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,074 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 Zunilda 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 Zunilda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zunilda appears almost entirely female. Of the 772 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Zunilda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zunilda is Hispanic at 98.7%. The next largest groups are Black (0.8%) and White (0.5%). 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 Zunilda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Zunilda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.7% (759 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 Zunilda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zunilda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zunilda 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 Zunilda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zunilda 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 Zunilda 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 are named Zunilda?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Zunilda at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.