Zaid
An Arabic name derived from the root word meaning "increase" or "growth".
Name Census estimates that about 6,980 living Americans carry the first name Zaid. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zaid today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zaid births was 2018 (475 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zaid. 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 Zaid with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Zaid is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
7.0K
~ 1 in 49,105 Americans
Peak year
2018
475 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#662
Tracked since 1969
Census
Zaid in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,362 people with the first name Zaid, which placed it at #3,333 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
#3,333
National first-name rank
People counted
6.4K
6,362 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zaid
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zaid is White at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (18.7%). 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 Zaid 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 Zaid at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.1% · 2,872
- Hispanic or Latino23.0% · 1,462
- Asian and Pacific Islander18.7% · 1,187
- Black or African American8.9% · 569
- Two or more races4.1% · 261
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 11
Popularity
Zaid: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zaid from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,758 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zaid remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zaid 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 Zaid during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaids live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Zaid, while West Virginia, Arkansas, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 168 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zaid
The name Zaid is of Arabic origin, tracing its roots back to the 6th century CE and the beginnings of Islam. It is derived from the Arabic verb "zada," which means "to increase" or "to grow." This name carries connotations of prosperity, abundance, and spiritual growth.
In Islamic tradition, Zaid ibn Harithah was a highly respected companion of the Prophet Muhammad. He was among the first individuals to embrace Islam and was later adopted by the Prophet as his son. Zaid's life and deeds are documented in various hadith (records of the Prophet's sayings and actions) and are considered an integral part of Islamic history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zaid can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. In the Surah Al-Ahzab (Chapter 33, Verse 37), Zaid ibn Harithah is mentioned in connection with his marriage to Zainab bint Jahsh, which later led to the establishment of certain Islamic laws regarding marriage and adoption.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Zaid. One of the most prominent was Zaid ibn Ali (699-740 CE), a grandson of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and a renowned leader of the Zaidi sect of Shia Islam. His uprising against the Umayyad Caliphate contributed to the eventual downfall of their dynasty.
Another significant figure was Zaid al-Shahid (martyred in 1284 CE), a prominent Shia scholar and jurist from Persia (present-day Iran). He played a crucial role in the development of Shia jurisprudence and was executed for his beliefs during the Mongol invasion.
In the realm of literature, Zaid ibn Rifa'a al-Naufali (8th century CE) was a renowned Arab poet and philosopher from the Abbasid era. His works, which explored themes of love, wisdom, and the human condition, have been widely admired and studied throughout the centuries.
During the 20th century, Zaid ibn Shaker (1892-1968) was a prominent Arab nationalist and political leader from Iraq. He played a significant role in the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq and served as the country's first Prime Minister after gaining independence from British rule.
Lastly, Zaid al-Numan (born in 1934) is a renowned Omani scholar and diplomat who has made significant contributions to the study of Islamic law and jurisprudence. He has held various positions within the Omani government and has been widely recognized for his efforts in promoting interfaith dialogue and understanding.
People
Zaid + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zaid 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
Zaid: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zaid?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,980 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zaid 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 49,105 US residents.
Is Zaid a common name?
We classify Zaid as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,056 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zaid most popular?
The single biggest year for Zaid was 2018, when 475 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zaid is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zaid in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,362 people with the name Zaid, or 2.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,333 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 Zaid 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 Zaid?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zaid leans strongly male. 6,147 people counted with this name were male (96.6%), compared with 218 female bearers (3.4%). 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 Zaid?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zaid is White at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (18.7%). 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 Zaid most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zaid in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.1% (2,872 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 Zaid in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zaid a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zaid 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 Zaid still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zaid 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 Zaid 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 Zaid?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.