Name Awesome

Zephaniah

#1,458 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Yahweh has hidden

Zephaniah has been given to 3,857 babies in the U.S. since 1972. In 2025 it ranked #1,458 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2019, with 171 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 88% boys, 12% girls all-time.

Babies named Zephaniah, 2025

1 in 27,000

Zephaniah over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Zephaniah over time

In 2025, Zephaniah went to 14% girls and 86% boys.

19722025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Zephaniah: meaning, origin, and history

Yahweh has hidden

Hebrew

What Zephaniah means

Zephaniah means “Yahweh has hidden”.

Origin, language, and formation

Zephaniah is used in English. Its origins include Hebrew.

Zephaniah comes through Hebrew צְפַנְיָה.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Zephaniah is pronounced /zɛfəˈnaɪə/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,380 boys were recorded with the name Zephaniah between 1972 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 171 in 2019; its best national rank was #1,143 in 2019.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,397 in 2020 to #1,458 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,415 in 2015 to #1,458 in 2025.

In the United States, 477 girls were recorded with the name Zephaniah between 1996 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 28 in 2016; its best national rank was #4,986 in 2016.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #6,317 in 2020 to #6,110 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #6,714 in 2015 to #6,110 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Zephaniah?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 27,000
123 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 13,900
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,458
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
18,683 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Zephaniah sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 18,683 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Zephaniah. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Zephaniahs were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Zephaniah was born before 2013 — so the typical Zephaniah is around 12 today.

Median birth year
2013
About 12 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
39.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
84.8%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
3,380
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 39.1% of all recorded uses (1,321).

Is Zephaniah rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−119
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−61
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−43
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
1.01×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
71.9%
Peak was 2019 (171)
Years since peak
6
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
9.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,143
2019

Spellings of Zephaniah

Zephaniah is not the most common spelling — Zechariah is, with 77.1% against Zephaniah's 22.9%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Zephaniah is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Zephaniah was most concentrated in Colorado — about 1 in 5,556 boys, against 1 in 14,803 across all states with data. It was least common in Illinois (1 in 100,000).

118 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Colorado1 in 5,556
  2. 2New Mexico1 in 7,143
  3. 3Washington1 in 9,091
  4. 4Ohio1 in 11,111
  5. 5Tennessee1 in 11,111
  6. 6Texas1 in 11,111
  7. 7Georgia1 in 12,500
  8. 8California1 in 14,286

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Zephaniah is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Zephaniah was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 2,309,474 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Florida1 in —
  3. 3New York1 in —
  4. 4Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Zephaniah has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Zephaniah around the world

Where Zephaniah ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2000–2025
    #1,197
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2003–2024
    #3,231
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1984–2013
    #754
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Zephaniah

People whose public names include Zephaniah, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Zephaniah by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,458
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 61
Best rank ever
#1,143
2019
Peak year
2019
171 that year
First recorded
1972
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,380
Count in 2025
123

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#6,110
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 207
Best rank ever
#4,986
2016
Peak year
2016
28 that year
First recorded
1996
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
477
Count in 2025
20

Names similar to Zephaniah

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ZeppelinJedediahZackariahJeramiahJerimiahZechariahZephyrJermiahMicaiahZacheriahJedidiahObadiahBenaiahZebadiahJessiahHezekiahZakariahAzariahZachariahJebediahZedekiahMassiahZebediahJesiah

Names with a curve like Zephaniah

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Zephaniah, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

PiersonOskarZakariaFarisViktorJetYoussefKiranGianlucaCormacAmmarMikah

Sibling names for Zephaniah

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Zephaniah

Top names of 2019, Zephaniah's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2019Boys' names starting with Z