Zeb
Zeb was given to 12 boys in 2025, #7,185 among boys’ names; 2,750 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,560 Americans named Zeb and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (57% of everyone recorded); the median is 34 years old and half are between 19 and 48.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Zeb by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Zeb mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Zeb is “a diminutive of the male given names Zebadiah, Zebedee, Zebulon, and Zebulun.”
From Zebadiah, Zebedee, Zebulon or Zebulun.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Zeb?
#7,185 among boys’ names, 2025
Zeb fell from #5,737 in 2015 to #7,185 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 8.3 to 7.0 per million.
65 babies in 1979, the peak
Zeb peaked in 1979, when 65 boys were given it, #1,115 among boys’ names. The 12 births of 2025 are 18% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #7,185 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 13 | #6,821 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 14 | #6,504 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 18 | #5,437 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 17 | #5,554 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 14 | #6,286 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 10 | #8,198 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 23 | #4,471 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 15 | #6,050 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 25 | #4,194 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 16 | #5,737 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 31 | #3,529 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 27 | #3,859 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 31 | #3,523 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 32 | #3,430 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 18 | #5,245 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 27 | #3,916 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 35 | #3,283 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 25 | #4,121 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 31 | #3,448 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 33 | #3,167 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 28 | #3,451 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 35 | #2,841 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 30 | #3,088 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 35 | #2,736 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 26 | #3,292 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 26 | #3,177 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 19 | #3,843 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 22 | #3,344 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 18 | #3,823 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 28 | #2,679 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 27 | #2,760 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 24 | #2,936 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 17 | #3,740 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 34 | #2,183 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 24 | #2,773 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 17 | #3,438 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 24 | #2,503 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 18 | #2,937 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 21 | #2,597 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 13 | #3,595 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 35 | #1,688 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 34 | #1,709 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 22 | #2,339 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 35 | #1,692 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 40 | #1,546 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 65 | #1,115 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 59 | #1,169 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 26 | #1,947 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 20 | #2,327 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 12 | #3,243 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 17 | #2,455 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 14 | #2,713 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 11 | #3,148 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 9 | #3,655 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 8 | #3,831 | under 0.01 |
| 1969 | 6 | #4,401 | under 0.01 |
| 1968 | 8 | #3,361 | under 0.01 |
| 1967 | 10 | #2,758 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 8 | #3,247 | under 0.01 |
| 1965 | 11 | #2,615 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 12 | #2,544 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 6 | #4,045 | under 0.01 |
| 1962 | 9 | #3,038 | under 0.01 |
| 1961 | 9 | #3,095 | under 0.01 |
| 1960 | 17 | #2,040 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 12 | #2,528 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 15 | #2,174 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 21 | #1,789 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 12 | #2,495 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 15 | #2,136 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 11 | #2,590 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 11 | #2,528 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 11 | #2,511 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 16 | #1,970 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 14 | #2,109 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 16 | #1,939 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 11 | #2,441 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 14 | #2,166 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 17 | #1,811 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 17 | #1,695 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 16 | #1,808 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 14 | #2,072 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 20 | #1,628 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 11 | #2,332 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 16 | #1,801 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 12 | #2,157 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 15 | #1,900 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 17 | #1,755 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 12 | #2,183 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 20 | #1,583 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 14 | #2,021 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 30 | #1,229 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 23 | #1,508 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 23 | #1,488 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 29 | #1,367 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 28 | #1,377 | 0.03 |
| 1928 | 25 | #1,521 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 26 | #1,515 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 28 | #1,403 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 35 | #1,224 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 41 | #1,132 | 0.04 |
| 1923 | 31 | #1,321 | 0.03 |
| 1922 | 48 | #1,031 | 0.04 |
| 1921 | 37 | #1,198 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 28 | #1,415 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 30 | #1,320 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 42 | #1,061 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 23 | #1,527 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 24 | #1,457 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 26 | #1,341 | 0.03 |
| 1914 | 31 | #1,018 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 18 | #1,255 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 17 | #1,173 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 10 | #1,188 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 7 | #1,418 | 0.04 |
| 1909 | 12 | #892 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,371 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 5 | #1,546 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,250 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 8 | #999 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 11 | #759 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 12 | #695 | 0.10 |
| 1902 | 8 | #931 | 0.07 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,209 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 8 | #1,048 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 8 | #855 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 7 | #1,000 | 0.06 |
| 1896 | 13 | #640 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 11 | #683 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 6 | #1,071 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 6 | #1,031 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 7 | #954 | 0.06 |
| 1891 | 8 | #764 | 0.08 |
| 1890 | 8 | #813 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 8 | #788 | 0.07 |
| 1888 | 16 | #504 | 0.13 |
| 1887 | 8 | #751 | 0.08 |
| 1886 | 8 | #757 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 5 | #1,096 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 11 | #612 | 0.10 |
| 1883 | 13 | #526 | 0.12 |
| 1882 | 10 | #651 | 0.09 |
| 1881 | 10 | #594 | 0.10 |
| 1880 | 10 | #639 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Zeb a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Zeb has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 145 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Zeb: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Zeb, and how old are they?
1,560 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 57% of the 2,750 Americans ever recorded as Zeb. The median Zeb alive today is 34 years old; half are between 19 and 48.
The 2020 Census counted 2,065 people named Zeb (52 women and girls, 2,013 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,575 born in the U.S. The Census count is 31% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 57 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 162 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 292 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 371 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 446 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 233 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Zeb born?
The states with the most babies named Zeb are North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee, with 95% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Tennessee is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 570 | not ranked | 7.5× |
| Texas | 18 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Tennessee | 12 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| California | 11 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Iowa | 6 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Alabama | 5 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Georgia | 5 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Oregon | 5 | not ranked | 0.2× |
Where Zeb is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Zeb is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 7.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Zeb with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Zeb
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Zeb and names like it
- Compare Zeb and EnosBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sZeb peaked in 1979.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Zeb since 1910.
- The top names of 1979The year the most babies were named Zeb.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Zeb alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with ZMost given first.