Recorded 1972–2025 · United States
Zephaniah was most popular in 2019, when 194 American babies were given the name — ranking #2,238 that year. In 2025 it ranked #2,786, with 143 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 3,857 people named Zephaniah.
Zephaniah first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1972, which makes it about 53 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 51 of the 54 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 3,857 American births named Zephaniah 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 3,806 are estimated to be alive today.
143 American babies were named Zephaniah in 2025, ranking #2,786 that year.
Zephaniah is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 146 births a year, against 141 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +3% 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 Zephaniah is mostly a boy’s name — 12.4% of the 3,857 Americans given it were girls and 87.6% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 13% girls and 87% 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 3,806 Americans named Zephaniah are alive today — 99% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 13 years old, and half are between 7 and 20.
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 Zephaniah on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org