Zamia
Meaning "evergreen, pinecone-shaped plant" derived from the scientific name.
Name Census estimates that about 346 living Americans carry the first name Zamia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zamia today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zamia births was 2021 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zamia. 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
346
~ 1 in 990,619 Americans
Peak year
2021
21 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,927
Tracked since 1998
Census
Zamia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 268 people with the first name Zamia, which placed it at #31,773 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
#31,773
National first-name rank
People counted
268
268 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
67.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zamia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zamia is Black at 67.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.9%) and Two or More Races (8.2%). 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 Zamia 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 Zamia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American67.2% · 180
- Hispanic or Latino14.9% · 40
- Two or more races8.2% · 22
- White6.7% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Zamia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zamia from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 144 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zamia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zamia 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 Zamia 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 Zamia
The given name Zamia finds its roots in the ancient Greek language, originating from the word "zamia," which referred to a type of cycad plant found in the Mediterranean region. The earliest recorded use of Zamia as a personal name dates back to the 5th century BCE, when it was used as a feminine name among the ancient Greeks.
In the realm of ancient Greek mythology, Zamia was the name of a nymph who was said to have been transformed into a cycad plant by the goddess Demeter. This mythological connection likely contributed to the name's association with nature and the botanical world.
During the Byzantine era, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century CE, the name Zamia gained popularity among the Greek-speaking population of the Byzantine Empire. It was particularly favored in regions such as Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and parts of Greece and Asia Minor.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Zamia was Zamia of Constantinople, a renowned Byzantine scholar and philosopher who lived in the 9th century CE. She was renowned for her intellectual prowess and her contributions to the fields of logic and metaphysics.
In the 16th century, the name Zamia made its way to the Italian peninsula, where it was adopted by some noble families. One prominent individual was Zamia Borghese, an Italian noblewoman who lived from 1535 to 1609. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the Catholic Church.
Another notable figure in history was Zamia Gozzadini, an Italian archaeologist and historian who lived from 1712 to 1783. She made significant contributions to the study of ancient Roman artifacts and was instrumental in the preservation of numerous archaeological sites in Italy.
During the 19th century, the name Zamia gained some popularity in parts of Eastern Europe, particularly in countries like Bulgaria and Romania. One notable bearer of the name was Zamia Popova, a Bulgarian writer and feminist activist who lived from 1855 to 1920. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and played a crucial role in the Bulgarian women's movement.
While the name Zamia has its roots in ancient Greek and has been used throughout various historical periods, it has remained relatively uncommon in modern times. However, its unique botanical connection and rich historical heritage continue to make it an intriguing choice for those seeking a name with a strong linguistic and cultural legacy.
People
Zamia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zamia 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
Zamia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zamia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 346 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zamia 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 990,619 US residents.
Is Zamia a common name?
We classify Zamia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 350 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zamia most popular?
The single biggest year for Zamia was 2021, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zamia 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 Zamia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 268 people with the name Zamia, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,773 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 Zamia 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 Zamia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zamia leans strongly female. 260 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Zamia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zamia is Black at 67.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.9%) and Two or More Races (8.2%). 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 Zamia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zamia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.2% (180 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 Zamia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zamia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zamia 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 Zamia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zamia 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 Zamia 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 Americans are named Zamia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.