Zissy
A feminine diminutive of Zoe, meaning life in Greek.
Name Census estimates that about 941 living Americans carry the first name Zissy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zissy today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zissy births was 2024 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zissy. 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 Zissy with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
941
~ 1 in 364,245 Americans
Peak year
2024
68 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,593
Tracked since 1972
Census
Zissy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 610 people with the first name Zissy, which placed it at #17,861 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
#17,861
National first-name rank
People counted
610
610 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
98.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zissy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zissy is White at 98.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Black (0.2%). 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 Zissy 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 Zissy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.5% · 601
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 8
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Popularity
Zissy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zissy from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 347 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zissy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zissy 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 Zissy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zissys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zissy
The name Zissy has its roots in ancient Greek culture, originating from the word "zizanion," meaning a type of weed or tare. This term was often used metaphorically to refer to something undesirable or troublesome. The name Zissy likely emerged as a diminutive or nickname derived from this word, potentially used to describe a mischievous or problematic child.
Early references to the name Zissy can be found in various Greek texts and historical records dating back to the 5th century BCE. One notable mention is in Aristotle's work "On the Soul," where he discusses the concept of zizanion in relation to human nature and virtues. However, it is unclear if the name itself was in use during this time or if it emerged later.
The first known individual to bear the name Zissy was a Greek merchant and explorer named Zissy of Miletus, who lived in the 3rd century BCE. He is mentioned in records as having led a trading expedition to the Black Sea region, although details of his life and achievements are scarce.
Another notable figure with the name Zissy was a Byzantine monk and theologian named Zissy of Constantinople, who lived in the 9th century CE. He was known for his contributions to the study of Eastern Orthodox theology and his writings on the nature of the Trinity.
In the 13th century, there was a Greek noblewoman named Zissy Palaiologina, who was a member of the influential Palaiologos dynasty that ruled the Byzantine Empire. She is recorded as having been involved in various political intrigues and power struggles during her lifetime.
During the Renaissance period, a Italian artist named Zissy Veneziano, born in 1485, gained recognition for his works in fresco painting and his contributions to the development of the Venetian school of art.
Finally, in the 19th century, a Greek poet and philosopher named Zissy Solomos, born in 1798, became renowned for his lyrical works that celebrated Greek culture and identity. He is considered one of the most influential figures in modern Greek literature and is often referred to as the national poet of Greece.
People
Zissy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zissy 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
Zissy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zissy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 941 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zissy 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 364,245 US residents.
Is Zissy a common name?
We classify Zissy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 954 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zissy most popular?
The single biggest year for Zissy was 2024, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zissy is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zissy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 610 people with the name Zissy, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,861 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 Zissy 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 Zissy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zissy appears almost entirely female. Of the 612 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Zissy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zissy is White at 98.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Black (0.2%). 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 Zissy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zissy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.5% (601 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 Zissy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zissy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zissy 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 Zissy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zissy 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 Zissy 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 Zissy?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.