Zuwena
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly an invented name.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Zuwena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zuwena today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zuwena births was 1974 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zuwena. 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 Zuwena with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zuwena. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1974
7 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1974 SSA rank
#7,678
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Zuwena: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Zuwena 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 Zuwena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 | 12 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Zuwena
The given name Zuwena has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which dates back to around 3000 BCE in the region of Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq. The name is believed to be derived from the Sumerian word "zu," meaning "to know" or "to be wise," and "wena," a suffix commonly used to form personal names. This suggests that the name Zuwena may have originally signified someone who was knowledgeable or wise.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zuwena appears in a cuneiform tablet from the city of Ur, dating back to around 2400 BCE. This tablet contains a list of names, including Zuwena, which seems to have been a relatively common name during that period in Sumerian society. The name has also been found in various other ancient Sumerian texts, such as legal documents and records of trade transactions.
In the later periods of Mesopotamian history, during the reigns of the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires, the name Zuwena continued to be used, although its spelling and pronunciation may have evolved slightly over time. One notable individual with this name was Zuwena, a high-ranking priestess who served in the temple of the goddess Ishtar in the city of Babylon during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BCE.
The name Zuwena also appears to have been adopted and used in various other ancient cultures that had interactions with the Mesopotamian civilizations. For example, there are records of individuals with this name among the Hittites, an ancient Anatolian people who lived in what is now modern-day Turkey.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zuwena. One was Zuwena of Ctesiphon, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century CE in the Sassanid Empire, which ruled over parts of modern-day Iran and Iraq. Another was Zuwena al-Andalusi, a renowned poet and writer who lived in Cordoba, Spain, during the Golden Age of Islamic culture in the 10th century CE.
In more recent times, there have been several individuals with the name Zuwena who have made significant contributions in various fields. Zuwena Bakr (1901-1983) was an Egyptian feminist and activist who played a crucial role in advancing women's rights in Egypt. Zuwena Khatun (1920-2004) was a renowned Bangladeshi folk singer and musician who helped preserve and popularize the rich musical traditions of her country.
People
Zuwena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zuwena 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
Zuwena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zuwena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zuwena 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Zuwena a common name?
We classify Zuwena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zuwena most popular?
The single biggest year for Zuwena was 1974, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zuwena is about 51 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 Zuwena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zuwena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zuwena 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 Zuwena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zuwena 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 Zuwena 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 Zuwena as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.