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Zeus

#1,351 in 2025Boys' name

Sky or shine

Zeus has been given to 2,696 babies in the U.S. since 1973. In 2025 it ranked #1,351 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2024, with 205 recorded.

Babies named Zeus, 2025

1 in 23,700

Zeus over time, 1880–2025

Boys
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Zeus: meaning, origin, and history

Sky or shine

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Zeus means

Zeus means “sky or shine”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Ancient Greek Ζεύς (Zeús). Doublet of Dyeus and Jove.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Zeus (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Zeus is used in English.

Zeus comes through Ancient Greek Ζεύς.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Zeus is pronounced /zus/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 2,696 boys were recorded with the name Zeus between 1973 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 205 in 2024; its best national rank was #1,067 in 2024.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,200 in 2020 to #1,351 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,462 in 2015 to #1,351 in 2025.

How common is Zeus?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 23,700
140 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 12,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,351
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
16,415 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Zeus 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 16,415 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Zeus. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Zeuss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Zeus was born before 2018 — so the typical Zeus is around 7 today.

Median birth year
2018
About 7 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
41.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
92.8%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
2,696
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 41.8% of all recorded uses (1,127).

Is Zeus 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
−284
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−151
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+111
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.21×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
68.3%
Peak was 2024 (205)
Years since peak
1
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
13.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,067
2024

Spellings of Zeus

Zeus is not the most common spelling — Jesus is, with 72.8% against Zeus's 0.80%.

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 Zeus is used

Across 2016–2025, Zeus was most concentrated in Arizona — about 1 in 4,762 boys, against 1 in 9,804 across all states with data. It was least common in Tennessee (1 in 100,000).

121 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Arizona1 in 4,762
  2. 2Nevada1 in 5,000
  3. 3California1 in 5,882
  4. 4Texas1 in 6,667
  5. 5Illinois1 in 8,333
  6. 6New York1 in 9,091
  7. 7Maryland1 in 10,000
  8. 8Florida1 in 11,111

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.

Zeus around the world

Where Zeus 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
    2002–2025
    #4,275
    in 2025
  • France
    2017–2017
    #5,701
    in 2017
  • Canada
    2010–2024
    #1,459
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2000–2000
    #556
    in 2000

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Zeus

People whose public names include Zeus, 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.

Zeus by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,351
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 151
Best rank ever
#1,067
2024
Peak year
2024
205 that year
First recorded
1973
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,696
Count in 2025
140

Names similar to Zeus

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

AtreusMateusAmadeusMatheusPerseusThadeusAndreusTheseusZacchaeusOdysseusThaddaeusZaccheusAlpheusReusThaddeusMattheusDeusTheusMatteusZagreusFinneusDareusAchilleusOrpheus

Names with a curve like Zeus

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

CedarLevZephyrBenaiahKilianBastianDenimKruzCartierAshMattiasAdiel

Sibling names for Zeus

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 Zeus

Top names of 2024, Zeus's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2024Boys' names starting with ZGreek Mythology Names