NameCensus.
Very Rare

Zayli

An English name of uncertain origin, potentially related to the word "zephyr".

Name Census estimates that about 212 living Americans carry the first name Zayli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zayli today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zayli births was 2020 (17 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Zayli. 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

212

~ 1 in 1,616,766 Americans

Peak year

2020

17 babies that year

Average age

11

years old

2024 SSA rank

#7,931

Tracked since 2005

Popularity

Zayli: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Zayli 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 110 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zayli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.

Babies born per year

04913172005201020152020

Decades

Zayli 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 Zayli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
2000s04040
2010s0110110
2020s06464

Geography

Where Zaylis live

Origin

Meaning and history of Zayli

The name Zayli has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages dating back to around 3500 BC in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). The name Zayli is derived from the Sumerian words "za," meaning "to shine" or "to radiate," and "li," meaning "life" or "essence." Thus, the name Zayli can be interpreted as "the shining essence of life" or "the radiant life force."

In the ancient Sumerian culture, names held deep significance and were often chosen to reflect the hopes and aspirations of the parents for their child. The name Zayli was likely bestowed upon children with the intention of blessing them with a vibrant and illuminating life journey.

The earliest recorded use of the name Zayli can be traced back to cuneiform inscriptions found on ancient clay tablets in the region of Sumer. These inscriptions often documented important events, such as births, deaths, and trade transactions, and the name Zayli appears in several of these records, indicating its use as a personal name during the Sumerian era.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Zayli. One such person was Zayli ibn Al-Muqaddasi, a renowned Arab geographer and traveler who lived in the 10th century AD. Born in Jerusalem in 945 AD, Zayli ibn Al-Muqaddasi is best known for his extensive travels throughout the Islamic world and his influential work, "The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions."

Another historical figure named Zayli was Zayli al-Kindi, a prominent Arab philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 9th century AD. Al-Kindi played a crucial role in introducing and translating Greek philosophical and scientific works into Arabic, contributing significantly to the advancement of knowledge during the Islamic Golden Age.

In the realm of literature, Zayli ibn al-Qattan was a renowned Arab poet and writer who flourished in the 10th century AD. His poetic works were widely celebrated for their eloquence and mastery of language, and he is considered one of the most influential literary figures of his time.

During the medieval period, Zayli al-Mansur was a distinguished Islamic scholar and jurist who lived in the 12th century AD. He was highly regarded for his expertise in Islamic law and his contributions to the field of jurisprudence.

In more recent times, Zayli Jaffer was a prominent Pakistani politician and diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, in the latter half of the 20th century.

While the name Zayli has its roots in ancient Sumerian culture, it has transcended time and geographical boundaries, appearing throughout history in various contexts and cultures, reflecting the diverse and rich tapestry of human civilization.

People

Zayli + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Zayli 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

Zayli: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Zayli?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zayli 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 1,616,766 US residents.

Is Zayli a common name?

We classify Zayli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 214 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Zayli most popular?

The single biggest year for Zayli was 2020, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zayli is about 11 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 Zayli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.

Is Zayli a female name?

Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zayli 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 Zayli still being used today?

Yes. The SSA still recorded Zayli 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 Zayli 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 common is the name Zayli?

Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Zayli at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.

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There are 212 people

with the first name

Zayli

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