Zola
Zola was given to 167 girls in 2025, #1,338 among girls’ names; 9,312 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,390 Americans named Zola and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (47% of everyone recorded); the median is 10 years old and half are between 5 and 27.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Zola by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Zola mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Zola is “a female given name created from Zoë or from the surname.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Zola?
#1,338 among girls’ names, 2025
Zola rose from #1,654 in 2015 to #1,338 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.07 to 0.10 per 1,000.
283 babies in 2018, the peak
Zola peaked in 2018, when 283 babies were given it (278 girls, #954 among girls’ names). The 167 births of 2025 are 59% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 167 | #1,338 | 0.10 |
| 2024 | 222 | #1,104 | 0.14 |
| 2023 | 219 | #1,123 | 0.14 |
| 2022 | 250 | #1,029 | 0.15 |
| 2021 | 265 | #982 | 0.16 |
| 2020 | 277 | #935 | 0.17 |
| 2019 | 266 | #977 | 0.16 |
| 2018 | 278 | #954 | 0.16 |
| 2017 | 240 | #1,068 | 0.14 |
| 2016 | 186 | #1,293 | 0.10 |
Every recorded year (143)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 130 | #1,654 | 0.07 |
| 2014 | 127 | #1,673 | 0.07 |
| 2013 | 101 | #1,967 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 96 | #2,027 | 0.05 |
| 2011 | 57 | #3,012 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 44 | #3,622 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 50 | #3,359 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 48 | #3,475 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 46 | #3,599 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 54 | #3,133 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 35 | #4,113 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 24 | #5,372 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 31 | #4,302 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 18 | #6,384 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 28 | #4,440 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 26 | #4,643 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 21 | #5,212 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 10 | #9,251 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 6 | #13,713 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 9 | #9,573 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 7 | #11,775 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 15 | #6,311 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 8 | #10,581 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 5 | #15,599 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 9 | #9,326 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 8 | #9,672 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 5 | #13,874 | under 0.01 |
| 1987 | 5 | #13,253 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 8 | #8,515 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 9 | #7,557 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 6 | #10,271 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 5 | #12,193 | under 0.01 |
| 1980 | 5 | #12,158 | under 0.01 |
| 1979 | 6 | #10,204 | under 0.01 |
| 1978 | 13 | #5,213 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 7 | #8,440 | under 0.01 |
| 1976 | 6 | #9,281 | under 0.01 |
| 1975 | 7 | #7,980 | under 0.01 |
| 1974 | 10 | #5,774 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 11 | #5,187 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 10 | #5,478 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 15 | #4,120 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 15 | #4,036 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 9 | #5,453 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 11 | #4,485 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 12 | #4,050 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 15 | #3,398 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 16 | #3,260 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 9 | #5,006 | under 0.01 |
| 1963 | 12 | #4,017 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 19 | #2,920 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 24 | #2,541 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 22 | #2,647 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 42 | #1,718 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 25 | #2,319 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 27 | #2,166 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 44 | #1,615 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 36 | #1,772 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 42 | #1,583 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 36 | #1,669 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 33 | #1,744 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 32 | #1,738 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 31 | #1,717 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 57 | #1,208 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 39 | #1,497 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 49 | #1,316 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 42 | #1,358 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 38 | #1,310 | 0.03 |
| 1944 | 54 | #1,070 | 0.04 |
| 1943 | 63 | #1,004 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 46 | #1,179 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 65 | #917 | 0.05 |
| 1940 | 61 | #927 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 76 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 74 | #825 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 85 | #740 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 53 | #950 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 54 | #953 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 109 | #643 | 0.10 |
| 1933 | 94 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1932 | 74 | #794 | 0.07 |
| 1931 | 82 | #747 | 0.08 |
| 1930 | 111 | #654 | 0.10 |
| 1929 | 119 | #637 | 0.11 |
| 1928 | 129 | #621 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 116 | #674 | 0.10 |
| 1926 | 124 | #651 | 0.10 |
| 1925 | 154 | #582 | 0.13 |
| 1924 | 184 | #531 | 0.15 |
| 1923 | 145 | #606 | 0.12 |
| 1922 | 171 | #547 | 0.14 |
| 1921 | 171 | #543 | 0.14 |
| 1920 | 180 | #528 | 0.15 |
| 1919 | 172 | #519 | 0.15 |
| 1918 | 176 | #525 | 0.15 |
| 1917 | 137 | #581 | 0.13 |
| 1916 | 167 | #505 | 0.16 |
| 1915 | 148 | #512 | 0.15 |
| 1914 | 101 | #561 | 0.13 |
| 1913 | 114 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1912 | 113 | #444 | 0.20 |
| 1911 | 78 | #466 | 0.19 |
| 1910 | 79 | #455 | 0.20 |
| 1909 | 59 | #487 | 0.17 |
| 1908 | 70 | #435 | 0.21 |
| 1907 | 53 | #496 | 0.17 |
| 1906 | 59 | #446 | 0.20 |
| 1905 | 66 | #422 | 0.23 |
| 1904 | 46 | #490 | 0.17 |
| 1903 | 64 | #399 | 0.24 |
| 1902 | 58 | #406 | 0.22 |
| 1901 | 56 | #396 | 0.23 |
| 1900 | 48 | #493 | 0.16 |
| 1899 | 49 | #420 | 0.21 |
| 1898 | 62 | #392 | 0.24 |
| 1897 | 51 | #413 | 0.22 |
| 1896 | 47 | #423 | 0.20 |
| 1895 | 60 | #365 | 0.26 |
| 1894 | 51 | #397 | 0.23 |
| 1893 | 34 | #463 | 0.16 |
| 1892 | 27 | #539 | 0.13 |
| 1891 | 29 | #482 | 0.16 |
| 1890 | 32 | #467 | 0.17 |
| 1889 | 22 | #554 | 0.12 |
| 1888 | 23 | #532 | 0.13 |
| 1887 | 23 | #470 | 0.16 |
| 1886 | 8 | #896 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 12 | #657 | 0.09 |
| 1884 | 14 | #582 | 0.11 |
| 1883 | 10 | #650 | 0.09 |
| 1882 | 9 | #677 | 0.08 |
| 1881 | 10 | #581 | 0.11 |
| 1880 | 7 | #737 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Zola a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Zola has been given almost only to girls: 26 boys in 143 years of records.
Girls and boys named Zola: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Zola, and how old are they?
4,390 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 47% of the 9,312 Americans ever recorded as Zola. The median Zola alive today is 10 years old; half are between 5 and 27.
The 2020 Census counted 3,216 people named Zola (3,140 women and girls, 76 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,452 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 346 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 468 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 155 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 96 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 588 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,720 |
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 Zola born?
The states with the most babies named Zola are North Carolina, Texas and Georgia, with 28% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 12 | #833 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 11 | #2,035 | 0.6× |
| Georgia | 10 | #982 | 0.8× |
| New York | 10 | #1,416 | 0.3× |
| Florida | 10 | #1,434 | 0.5× |
| Illinois | 9 | #1,013 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 9 | #1,013 | 0.3× |
| Michigan | 8 | #964 | 0.3× |
| Indiana | 8 | #814 | 0.5× |
| California | 7 | #2,764 | 0.4× |
Where Zola is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Zola is most over-represented in Kentucky: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 Zola with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 11,661 babies since 1880, Zola is the most given (80% of them). In 2025 it was given to 167 of their 209 babies (80%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Zola
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 Zola and names like it
- Compare Zola and ZoilaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sZola peaked in 2018.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Zola since 1910.
- The top names of 2018The year the most babies were named Zola.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Zola alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with ZMost given first.