Zenobia
Zenobia was given to 18 girls in 2025, #6,540 among girls’ names; 4,592 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,810 Americans named Zenobia and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (61% of everyone recorded); the median is 43 years old and half are between 21 and 64.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Zenobia by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Zenobia mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Zenobia is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.”
From Latin Zēnobiā, from Ancient Greek Ζηνοβίᾱ (Zēnobíā), name of a third century Queen of Palmyra. Ostensibly from Ζήνων (Zḗnōn), an ancient derivative of Ζεύς (Zeús), but also suggested to be a rendering of the Arabic زَيْنَب (zaynab, “Zaynab”). First recorded as an English given name in Cornwall in 1586.
/zəˈnoʊ.bi.ə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Zenobia?
#6,540 among girls’ names, 2025
Zenobia fell from #3,701 in 2015 to #6,540 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 23.5 to 11.2 per million.
62 babies in 1923, the peak
Zenobia peaked in 1923, when 62 girls were given it, #940 among girls’ names. The 18 births of 2025 are 29% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 18 | #6,540 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 32 | #4,469 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 41 | #3,760 | 0.03 |
| 2022 | 33 | #4,374 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 32 | #4,407 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 46 | #3,398 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 37 | #4,004 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 42 | #3,675 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 39 | #3,917 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 48 | #3,377 | 0.03 |
Every recorded year (141)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 42 | #3,701 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 55 | #3,076 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 37 | #4,072 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 51 | #3,265 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 22 | #6,142 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 19 | #6,899 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 18 | #7,334 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 31 | #4,875 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 27 | #5,372 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 33 | #4,460 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 25 | #5,258 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 38 | #3,814 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 21 | #5,789 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 29 | #4,375 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 30 | #4,204 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 25 | #4,783 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 29 | #4,083 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 28 | #4,136 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 33 | #3,543 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 32 | #3,563 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 33 | #3,416 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 34 | #3,366 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 34 | #3,345 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 30 | #3,674 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 35 | #3,200 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 47 | #2,565 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 33 | #3,246 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 32 | #3,159 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 31 | #3,095 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 36 | #2,721 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 32 | #2,936 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 32 | #2,848 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 24 | #3,429 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 34 | #2,769 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 51 | #2,060 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 30 | #3,001 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 38 | #2,476 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 29 | #2,858 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 31 | #2,714 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 41 | #2,134 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 48 | #1,905 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 29 | #2,615 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 36 | #2,222 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 35 | #2,221 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 40 | #2,106 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 41 | #2,042 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 41 | #1,979 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 31 | #2,203 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 44 | #1,750 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 42 | #1,765 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 41 | #1,800 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 40 | #1,890 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 29 | #2,250 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 26 | #2,412 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 40 | #1,836 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 37 | #1,885 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 44 | #1,670 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 39 | #1,760 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 49 | #1,548 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 42 | #1,660 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 47 | #1,496 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 36 | #1,737 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 35 | #1,705 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 40 | #1,538 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 40 | #1,503 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 54 | #1,257 | 0.03 |
| 1949 | 50 | #1,302 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 36 | #1,574 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 40 | #1,508 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 33 | #1,557 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 21 | #1,872 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 33 | #1,431 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 31 | #1,525 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 47 | #1,161 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 25 | #1,608 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 35 | #1,271 | 0.03 |
| 1939 | 47 | #1,052 | 0.04 |
| 1938 | 36 | #1,230 | 0.03 |
| 1937 | 33 | #1,280 | 0.03 |
| 1936 | 32 | #1,295 | 0.03 |
| 1935 | 31 | #1,330 | 0.03 |
| 1934 | 25 | #1,517 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 31 | #1,310 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 32 | #1,319 | 0.03 |
| 1931 | 26 | #1,500 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 49 | #1,058 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 53 | #1,002 | 0.05 |
| 1928 | 36 | #1,288 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 40 | #1,260 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 40 | #1,242 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 60 | #969 | 0.05 |
| 1924 | 53 | #1,085 | 0.04 |
| 1923 | 62 | #940 | 0.05 |
| 1922 | 56 | #1,007 | 0.05 |
| 1921 | 54 | #1,034 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 43 | #1,170 | 0.04 |
| 1919 | 58 | #932 | 0.05 |
| 1918 | 48 | #1,060 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 50 | #1,001 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 45 | #1,042 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 47 | #978 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 39 | #955 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 33 | #945 | 0.05 |
| 1912 | 37 | #831 | 0.07 |
| 1911 | 25 | #874 | 0.06 |
| 1910 | 19 | #1,029 | 0.05 |
| 1909 | 35 | #683 | 0.10 |
| 1908 | 25 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 10 | #1,381 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 20 | #844 | 0.07 |
| 1905 | 15 | #1,010 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 11 | #1,169 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 7 | #1,589 | 0.03 |
| 1902 | 17 | #871 | 0.06 |
| 1901 | 8 | #1,336 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 11 | #1,227 | 0.04 |
| 1899 | 11 | #1,033 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 15 | #919 | 0.06 |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,549 | 0.03 |
| 1896 | 11 | #1,046 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 9 | #1,200 | 0.04 |
| 1894 | 9 | #1,133 | 0.04 |
| 1893 | 10 | #1,020 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 13 | #860 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 9 | #1,005 | 0.05 |
| 1889 | 9 | #948 | 0.05 |
| 1886 | 10 | #777 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 6 | #1,045 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 5 | #1,052 | 0.04 |
| 1882 | 7 | #811 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 6 | #828 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Zenobia a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Zenobia has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 141 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Zenobia: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Zenobia, and how old are they?
2,810 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 61% of the 4,592 Americans ever recorded as Zenobia. The median Zenobia alive today is 43 years old; half are between 21 and 64.
The 2020 Census counted 2,571 people named Zenobia (2,565 women and girls, 6 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,829 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 177 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 584 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 553 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 535 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 454 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 499 |
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 Zenobia born?
The states with the most babies named Zenobia are New York, Louisiana and Arkansas, with 49% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana and Arkansas are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 256 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Louisiana | 124 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Arkansas | 108 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Texas | 93 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| California | 83 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Illinois | 62 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| North Carolina | 60 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Georgia | 41 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| South Carolina | 38 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Mississippi | 31 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Zenobia is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Zenobia is most over-represented in Arkansas: since 1910 it was given 1.9 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 girls’ 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 Zenobia 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 Zenobia
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 Zenobia and names like it
- Compare Zenobia and PetraBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sZenobia peaked in 1923.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Zenobia since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Zenobia: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1923The year the most babies were named Zenobia.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Zenobia alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with ZMost given first.