Recorded 2002–2025 · United States
Zelie was most popular in 2021, when 142 American babies were given the name — ranking #2,768 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,107, with 121 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 1,264 people named Zelie.
Zelie first appears in Social Security Administration records in 2002, which makes it about 23 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 24 of the 24 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 1,264 American births named Zelie between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 1,256 are estimated to be alive today.
121 American babies were named Zelie in 2025, ranking #3,107 that year.
Zelie is rising. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 119 births a year, against 26 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +366% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Zelie is a girl’s name — 100.0% of the 1,264 Americans given it were girls and 0.0% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 1,256 Americans named Zelie are alive today — 99% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 6 years old, and half are between 3 and 9. That is a narrow band because Zelie is a young name — it only became common recently, so almost everyone carrying it is still a child or a young adult.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Zelie on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org