Fun Facts About the Name Zed
- 454 babies named Zed: U.S. records list 454 babies given the name Zed from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Zed Mean?
Zed is an English masculine given name. Its usual meaning is tied to Zedekiah, a biblical name from Hebrew. The Hebrew form is Ṣidqiyyāhū (צִדְקִיָּהוּ), built from ṣedeq or ṣidqi, meaning "righteousness" or "my righteousness," and Yah, a short form of the divine name Yahweh. The literal sense is "Yahweh is my righteousness"; the customary English gloss is "righteousness of the Lord." Zed drops the theophoric ending and serves as a short form.
A separate origin for the given name is the British English name of the letter Z, also zed. That letter name came into English through Old French zede, from Latin zeta, from Greek zēta. In this origin Zed has no lexical meaning as a personal name; it is the letter used as a name. Zed is not a short form of Zechariah (which yields Zach or Zech) or of Ezekiel (which yields Zeke).
Zed Name History & Origins
The Hebrew name behind Zed belongs to King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. In 2 Kings 24, Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon placed Mattaniah on the throne in 597 BCE and changed his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah ruled until 586 BCE, when he rebelled; Jerusalem and the First Temple were destroyed, his sons were killed, and he was blinded and taken to Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah is closely associated with him in the biblical account, and the name remained familiar through Jewish and Christian Scripture.
English Bibles use the full form Zedekiah. In English use, Zed can serve as a shortened form of that name. Separately, the word zed for the letter Z developed in British English from Old French zede and Latin zeta, ultimately from Greek zēta. As a modern given name, Zed has been used for both the biblical shortening and the letter name. It appears in later fiction, such as Agent Zed in the Men in Black films and a character in Pulp Fiction, but these are uses of the name, not its origin.
How Popular is the Name Zed?
Zed recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2018. Its best rank was #953 in 1894.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,700 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #6,167 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #7,727 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #10,840 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2021 | #5,560 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2020 | #10,587 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #9,737 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #5,316 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2017 | #6,055 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2016 | #6,344 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2015 | #9,557 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2014 | #12,091 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #8,772 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #8,854 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #12,269 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #10,754 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #10,973 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #14,376 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 2006 | #9,580 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2005 | #11,458 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #9,937 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2002 | #9,383 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #5,912 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #11,597 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #7,553 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1994 | #8,794 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #10,162 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #5,940 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #7,175 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #6,935 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #3,915 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1987 | #4,966 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1986 | #3,881 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1985 | #4,694 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #5,554 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #7,283 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #7,068 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #5,841 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #4,933 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #5,750 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #3,943 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #3,688 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #4,198 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1942 | #4,044 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1937 | #3,174 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1935 | #3,251 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1932 | #4,280 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #3,707 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1925 | #4,860 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1923 | #4,238 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #4,283 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #4,807 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1918 | #3,727 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1917 | #3,979 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1916 | #3,513 | 7 | 0.0008% |
| 1898 | #1,289 | 5 | 0.0041% |
| 1894 | #953 | 7 | 0.0060% |
| 1887 | #1,067 | 5 | 0.0049% |
| 1882 | #1,099 | 5 | 0.0044% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Zed Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have aspiration and inspiration, hope and guidance. Since you are intuitive and perceptive and you understand human nature. You have the power to achieve. Diplomacy and discretion make you a good mediator. You are inspired, introspective, and have a good understanding of the human heart. You can have the ability to commercialize your artistic talents successfully. You are often a mystery to others and to yourself. You are always reaching for something higher, without exactly knowing what that "higher" is. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Zed's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Zed's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.