Zen
- #3,517 for girls in 2025, 43 births
- #1,141 for boys in 2025, 185 births
- Given to boys 82.0% of the time
Showing
- Peak · boys
- 2022 · 256 births
- Debut · boys
- 5 births
- In top 100 · boys
- neverof 146 years
- Total births · boys
- 2,718since 1969
Zen over time
girlsboys
Rank within each sex, plotted together. Click any year to open it.
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.
Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.
Show data table
| Year | girls | boys | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rank | births | rank | births | |
| 2025 | #3,517 | 43 | #1,141 | 185 |
| 2024 | #3,695 | 41 | #955 | 238 |
| 2023 | #2,823 | 60 | #935 | 242 |
| 2022 | #2,661 | 65 | #905 | 256 |
| 2021 | #3,112 | 52 | #1,182 | 166 |
| 2020 | #3,221 | 48 | #1,196 | 160 |
| 2019 | #3,388 | 46 | #1,386 | 128 |
| 2018 | #4,562 | 30 | #1,521 | 112 |
| 2017 | #5,338 | 24 | #1,707 | 92 |
| 2016 | #5,284 | 25 | #1,959 | 74 |
| 2015 | #5,653 | 23 | #1,931 | 75 |
| 2014 | #9,517 | 11 | #1,714 | 88 |
| 2013 | #11,000 | 9 | #2,113 | 63 |
| 2012 | #7,804 | 15 | #2,292 | 56 |
| 2011 | #8,614 | 13 | #2,105 | 63 |
| 2010 | #8,701 | 13 | #2,187 | 60 |
| 2009 | #11,459 | 9 | #1,990 | 70 |
| 2008 | #12,579 | 8 | #1,932 | 74 |
| 2007 | #6,093 | 22 | #2,442 | 52 |
| 2006 | #15,152 | 6 | #2,398 | 51 |
| 2005 | — | #2,325 | 50 | |
| 2004 | #9,892 | 10 | #2,238 | 51 |
| 2003 | #15,784 | 5 | #2,620 | 38 |
| 2002 | #13,595 | 6 | #2,632 | 36 |
| 2001 | — | #2,520 | 38 | |
| 2000 | #13,154 | 6 | #2,805 | 32 |
| 1999 | — | #2,722 | 31 | |
| 1998 | #14,122 | 5 | #2,599 | 32 |
| 1997 | — | #4,960 | 12 | |
| 1996 | — | #3,830 | 17 | |
| 1995 | — | #4,052 | 15 | |
| 1994 | — | #5,452 | 10 | |
| 1993 | — | #4,697 | 12 | |
| 1992 | — | #6,670 | 7 | |
| 1991 | — | #7,271 | 6 | |
| 1990 | — | #4,993 | 10 | |
| 1989 | — | #7,905 | 5 | |
| 1988 | — | — | ||
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| 1980 | — | #5,525 | 6 | |
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| 1969 | — | #4,404 | 5 | |
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First appearance
1969
The first year at least five boys were named Zen! It came in at #4,404, and was given to 5 baby boys.
Quietest stretch: 1969–1979, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.
Where Zen is popular in 2025
- Rank in state
- Top 10
- 11–50
- 51–100
- 101–500
- 501+
- Not published
Hover or tap a state for its numbers.
Top states · boys
- Maryland#516 · 1 in 2,544
- Washington#639 · 1 in 3,280
- Georgia#673 · 1 in 3,587
- New York#692 · 1 in 4,020
- New Jersey#707 · 1 in 4,418
Best ever in a state: #214 in Hawaii, 2024.
Show every state
| State | Rank | Births | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | #516 | 9 | 1 in 2,544 |
| Washington | #639 | 10 | 1 in 3,280 |
| Georgia | #673 | 14 | 1 in 3,587 |
| New York | #692 | 21 | 1 in 4,020 |
| New Jersey | #707 | 9 | 1 in 4,418 |
| Colorado | #756 | 6 | 1 in 4,475 |
| Florida | #846 | 17 | 1 in 5,620 |
| North Carolina | #873 | 9 | 1 in 5,719 |
| Arizona | #927 | 5 | 1 in 6,545 |
| Michigan | #999 | 6 | 1 in 6,699 |
| California | #1,011 | 21 | 1 in 8,356 |
| Texas | #1,217 | 17 | 1 in 10,297 |
| Ohio | #1,267 | 5 | 1 in 10,507 |
| Alabama | — | — | — |
| Alaska | — | — | — |
| Arkansas | — | — | — |
| Connecticut | — | — | — |
| Delaware | — | — | — |
| District of Columbia | — | — | — |
| Hawaii | — | — | — |
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| Wisconsin | — | — | — |
| Wyoming | — | — | — |
Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.
See more about Zen
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
- 186 spots since 2024 (#955 → #1,141)
- 55 spots since 2020 (#1,196 → #1,141)
- Biggest jump: 277 spots in 2022
- Biggest drop: 186 spots in 2025
Rise & fade · boys
53 yrs to peak
- Debuted 1969
- Peaked 2022 at #905 (256 births)
- Not yet halved from its peak
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 3 yrs
- Top 10: never
- Top 100: never
- Top 1,000: 3 yrs · run 2022–2024
Share of babies · boys
1 in 6,820
- Highest: 1 in 6,820 boys born in 2022 were named Zen (0.01%)
- Latest: 1 in 9,233 boys born in 2025 (0.01%)
Era · boys
The 2020s
- 45.9% of all boys named Zen (1,247) were born in this decade
Girls or boys?
Never flipped
- The majority has never changed
Show by decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5 | #4,404 (1969) | #4,404 |
| 1970s | 0 | — | — |
| 1980s | 11 | #5,525 (1980) | #6,715 |
| 1990s | 152 | #2,599 (1998) | #4,725 |
| 2000s | 492 | #1,932 (2008) | #2,390 |
| 2010s | 811 | #1,386 (2019) | #1,892 |
| 2020s | 1,247 | #905 (2022) | #1,052 |
All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.
Want to check a specific year?
See where Zen ranked and which names it was up against. Click a point on the chart, or pick a year: