Zabdiel
Masculine · Hebrew roots · “gift of God”
Zabdiel comes out of the Hebrew Bible, where it belongs to two men in the books of Chronicles and Nehemiah, and it has been carried through Greek and Latin scripture ever since. It ends the way Gabriel, Daniel and Nathaniel end — that same -el, the Hebrew word for God, closing the name on a bright syllable. Rare in English-speaking households, it has long been at home in Spanish-speaking ones.
How old is the name Zabdiel?
Zabdiel first appears in US birth records in 1986 — 39 years ago. The typical Zabdiel is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,500 people named Zabdiel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zabdiel most popular?
Zabdiel peaked in 2022, reaching #1069 nationally. Today it ranks #1376, 307 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Zabdiel appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Zavdi'el (Hebrew) to Zabdiel
The story of Zabdiel
Zabdiel is a Hebrew name that reached English through scripture rather than through migration. In 1 Chronicles it belongs to the father of Jashobeam, one of David's commanders; in Nehemiah it belongs to an overseer of the priests in Jerusalem after the return from exile. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible wrote it Ζαβδιήλ, Latin kept it close, and English Bibles have printed it as Zabdiel for centuries. Its modern life as a given name is largely a Spanish-speaking one — Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the Latino communities of Texas, New York and California, where biblical -el names have stayed in steady use.
Meaning
gift of God
From the Hebrew root zavad, to give or bestow, joined to El, God — read as 'gift of God' or 'God has given'. The same root sits inside Zebedee and Zebadiah.
How the name formed
- Zavdi'elHebrew
- ZabdiēlGreek
- ZabdielLatin
- ZabdielEnglish, Spanish
Related forms: Zabdiel · Zavdiel · Zabdiēl · Zabdiel · Zebadiah · Zebedee
Pronouncing Zabdiel
ZAB-dee-el
English speakers stress the first syllable. In Spanish it runs closer to sahb-DYEL, with the weight at the end and the middle two syllables glided together. Both are correct; families often use one at home and the other at school.
Nicknames for Zabdiel
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1986
- Most boys named
- 2022205 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1069reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- +12.6%134 in 2025, from 119
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Zabdiel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zabdiel in Spanish — same name
- Zavdiel in Hebrew — transliteration
- Zabdiēl in Greek — transliteration
- Zabdiel in Portuguese — same name
- Zebadiah in English — related form
- Zebedee in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, New York, California.
Zabdiels among us
people named Zabdiel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 12,747 born in 2025 was named Zabdiel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Caelan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zabdiel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Caelan climbed just as high around 2001, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Caelan's path sketches the road Zabdiel is walking now.
Zabdiel is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Zabdiel is headed
Zabdiel looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 19% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Zabdiel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zabdiel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with a documented biblical source — the answer to 'what does it mean' is short and checkable.
- Spells phonetically in both English and Spanish once heard, with no competing standard spelling to correct.
- Shares its ending with Gabriel, Daniel and Nathaniel, so it sits in familiar company on a class list.
- Works across languages without changing letters — the written name is the same in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
- It is rare enough that most people will meet it here first. Expect to spell it aloud fairly often, and to hear the Z softened or the middle syllable dropped until it is repeated.
- The English and Spanish pronunciations put the stress in different places. Bilingual families usually settle into both, but it is worth deciding early which one you will offer to strangers.
- Short forms exist but none is fixed by long tradition, so whatever the family uses will largely be the family's own invention.
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What they receive
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Zabdiel
Masculine · Hebrew roots · #1376 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zabdiels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Zabdiel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zabdiel in 2025?
- Zabdiel ranks #1376 among US boy names in 2025, with 134 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zabdiel?
- About 1 in every 12,747 US boys born in 2025 was named Zabdiel — 134 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zabdiel with classmates?
- Zabdiel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zabdiel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zael#1376 · Thorin#1376 · Coen#1376 · Kashmir#1376 · Kamryn#1376 · Baron#1370 · Jakob#1370 · Perry#1370
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zabdiel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zabdiel and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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