Boys' name · since 2009
Zao
32 babies named Zao in U.S. Social Security records since 2009, with the highest year being 2011. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #25,512 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 32
- born since 2009
- 2010s
- peak decade
Zao is not among the current top-ranked boys names; 32 have been recorded since 2009.
Zao has 32 recorded births among boys since 2009, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 2009 to 2023.
- #25,512 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- 32 born since 2009
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Zao ranks #25,512 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 32 born since 2009, peaking in the 2010s.
- #25,512 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 32
- born since 2009
- 2010s
- peak decade
Zao's 32 recorded births place it above 43.9% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
Zao's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Zao splits its recorded history at 2015: 47% of all births land in the more recent half, 53% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 2009 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2011 peak of 6 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Zao popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2009–2023
- Peak year (2011)
- 6
- Annual births at peak, across 15 years of records
Zao by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (22 births, 69% of the file).
2010s was Zao's strongest decade.
22 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 69% of all-time use.
Zao births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 2000s 5
2000s
5 births
- 2010s
2010s
22 births
- 2020s 5
2020s
5 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 22 births (69% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Zao's data
- Zao's decade-level peak was the 2010s (22 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Zao
Nearby Names Like Zao
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Zao
Compare Zao side by side: Zao vs Zaon
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Zao: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2011)
Similar record span (~14 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 2009–2023 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Zao draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.