Zelia
Feminine · “zeal”
Zelia is Portuguese and Italian, and its likeliest root is the Greek zelos — a word for ardor that gave English both zeal and jealousy.
How old is the name Zelia?
Zelia first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Zelia alive today was born around 1940, making them about 85 years old. About 600 people named Zelia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zelia most popular?
Zelia peaked in 1887, reaching #693 nationally. Today it ranks #4265, 3,572 places below that high. See the whole 1887 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From zelos to Zelia
The story of Zelia
Zelos in Greek covered both admirable eagerness and the less admirable version, and Latin zelus split in medieval French into zèle and jaloux — so zeal and jealousy are the same word taken twice. Zélie was a French name and Zelia the Portuguese and Italian form. Zélie Martin, mother of Thérèse of Lisieux, was canonized in 2015. It appears in American records around 1890.
Meaningscholars disagree
zeal, ardor
From Greek zelos, eager rivalry or ardor, through Latin zelus; the same word gives zeal and, by a different route, jealous. A separate reading connects Zelia to Solange or to Celia, and neither is settled.
How the name formed
- zelos
- Zélie
- Zelia
Related forms: Zélia · Zélie · Zelia
Pronouncing Zelia
ZEH-lee-ah
Three syllables, first stressed. Portuguese gives ZEH-lyah.
Nicknames for Zelia
Moderate
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
- 1883
- Most girls named
- 202533 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #693reached in 1887
- Change vs 2023
- +57.1%33 in 2025, from 21
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.
Zelia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zélia in Portuguese — same name
- Zélie in French — related form
- Zelia in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Zelias among us
people named Zelia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 48,705 born in 2025 was named Zelia
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
Zelia 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 Zelia is headed
Zelia should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Zelia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zelia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The initial Z keeps it distinct on any list.
- Lia is a complete short form in several languages.
- The zeal-and-jealousy doubling is a genuinely good piece of word history.
- Zelia, Zélie and Celia are all close and get confused.
- The origin is genuinely argued between several candidates.
- The accent on the Portuguese form is dropped by American systems.
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What they receive
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Zelia
Feminine · #4265 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zelias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Zelia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zelia in 2025?
- Zelia ranks #4265 among US girl names in 2025, with 33 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zelia?
- About 1 in every 48,705 US girls born in 2025 was named Zelia — 33 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zelia with classmates?
- Zelia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zelia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hyacinth#4265 · Halina#4265 · Michal#4265 · Sadia#4265 · Zahava#4265 · Maiah#4265 · Daysi#4265 · Corrie#4265
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zelia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zelia and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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