Zelda
Feminine · “blessed”
Zelda is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 16,734 girls against 5 boys since 1880.
Zelda arrives with two histories behind it: a Yiddish name carried into America by immigrant families, and a clipped form of the old Germanic Griselda. It has been in American records from the beginning of them, and in the mid-1980s a Japanese game designer borrowed it for a princess after reading about Zelda Fitzgerald, which is how a name of the 1900s ended up known to nearly everyone born since.
How old is the name Zelda?
Zelda was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Zelda alive today was born around 1955, making them about 70 years old. About 9,700 people named Zelda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zelda most popular?
Zelda peaked in 1911, reaching #374 nationally. Today it ranks #832, 458 places below that high. See the whole 1911 chart.
Zelda appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Griselda to Zelda
The story of Zelda
The Yiddish Zelde was a given name in its own right among Ashkenazi Jewish families in Central and Eastern Europe, and it traveled with them to English-speaking countries, where the spelling settled as Zelda. Separately, English speakers had long been trimming Griselda — the patient wife of a tale told by Boccaccio and then by Chaucer — down to its last two syllables. By the early twentieth century Zelda stood alone on both counts, and it is from that era that the American writer Zelda Fitzgerald takes her place in the record. The name has stepped back from that high point since, but never left.
Meaningscholars disagree
'blessed, happy' in the Yiddish line; 'grey battle' in the Griselda line
Two serious roads lead to the same spelling. As an independent Yiddish woman's name, Zelda (Zelde) is traced to a Middle High German word for blessed or fortunate. As a short form of Griselda, it inherits that name's Germanic elements gris, 'grey', and hild, 'battle'. Both are well attested, and many families arrived at Zelda by one road without ever knowing the other existed.
How the name formed
- Griselda
- Zelda
Related forms: Zelde · Griselda · Griselda · Griseldis · Selde
Pronouncing Zelda
ZEL-duh
Two syllables, stress on the first, exactly as spelled. Speakers of most European languages read it correctly on sight.
Nicknames for Zelda
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 2019436 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #374reached in 1911
- Change vs 2022
- −24.6%328 in 2025, from 435
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.
Zelda in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zelde in Yiddish — transliteration
- Griselda in English — related form
- Griselda in Italian — related form
- Griseldis in German — related form
- Selde in Yiddish — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Zeldas among us
people named Zelda are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 4,900 born in 2025 was named Zelda
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Zelda sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Zelda is headed
Zelda should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. 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.
Zelda beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zelda in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One spelling, one pronunciation, no variants competing for it — almost nobody has to ask how it is written.
- Short and clear: two syllables opening on a Z and ending in the -a that Emma, Ada and Nora share.
- A continuous presence in American records rather than a recent coinage, with a documented history in two separate traditions.
- Established short forms already in use — Zel, Zellie — so a child has room to choose.
- Recognizable across languages without translation, and unusual enough that a classroom will hold only one.
- For a great many people the first association is the Nintendo game, now decades old and still running. Expect the reference to be made out loud, often kindly, sometimes repeatedly. If that would wear on you, better to know now.
- It is still strongly represented among generations born mid-century, which means it can read as an older name to some ears — the usual position for a name on its way back rather than a problem with the name.
- Zelda Fitzgerald's life is widely read about and was a difficult one. Some parents find the connection appealing, others would rather not carry it; worth deciding which camp you are in before someone else raises it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Zelda
Feminine · #832 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zeldas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 9,700 people named Zelda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zelda in 2025?
- Zelda ranks #832 among US girl names in 2025, with 328 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zelda?
- About 1 in every 4,900 US girls born in 2025 was named Zelda — 328 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zelda with classmates?
- Zelda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zelda
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ezra#833 · Zaniyah#833 · Erin#833 · Denver#836 · Celina#827 · Braelynn#837 · Amelie#827 · Aila#827
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zelda? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zelda and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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