Zenon
Masculine · “of Zeus”
Zenon is built on the name of Zeus, and it belonged to two of the most consequential thinkers in Greek philosophy: Zeno of Elea, who invented the paradoxes about motion, and Zeno of Citium, who founded Stoicism. It became a Polish and Ukrainian name through the Eastern church, and its American peak is 1910, with the Central European migration of that decade.
How old is the name Zenon?
Zenon first appears in US birth records in 1910 — 115 years ago. The typical Zenon alive today was born around 1975, making them about 50 years old. About 900 people named Zenon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zenon most popular?
Zenon peaked in 1910, reaching #1421 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 4,440 places below that high. See the whole 1910 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Zeus to Zenon
The story of Zenon
Zeno of Elea, in the fifth century BC, devised the paradoxes of Achilles and the tortoise and of the arrow, which are still argued about; Zeno of Citium founded the Stoic school in Athens around 300 BC. The name was common enough in the Greek world that several saints and a Byzantine emperor carried it. Through the Eastern church it entered Slavic naming, and Zenon became a standard Polish name, borne by writers and by the physicist Zenon Chodkiewicz among others. Polish and Ukrainian migration to America between 1890 and 1914 brought it here, which is exactly where the American record peaks.
Meaning
of Zeus
The Greek name Zeus has an irregular declension, and its genitive stem is Zen-, which is what personal names are built from: Zenon, Zenodoros, Zenobia. So the name means something like 'belonging to Zeus'. Zeus itself descends from the Indo-European sky-god name that also gives Latin deus and Sanskrit dyaus, and ultimately English day. The derivation is settled at every step.
How the name formed
- Zeus
- Zenon
- Zenon
Related forms: Zenon · Zenon · Zenone · Zenon · Zeno
Pronouncing Zenon
ZEH-non
Two syllables, stress on the first in Polish and Greek. English speakers often say ZEE-non with a long e. Both are heard on American bearers, and the short-e version is the one used where the name is native.
Nicknames for Zenon
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
- 1910
- Most boys named
- 195423 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1421reached in 1910
- Change vs 2023
- +7.1%15 in 2025, from 14
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.
Zenon in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zenon in Polish — same name
- Zenon in Greek — same name
- Zenone in Italian — related form
- Zenon in Spanish — same name
- Zeno in English — related form
Zenons among us
people named Zenon are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 born in 2025 was named Zenon
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
Zenon 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
Zenon beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zenon in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It has two genuinely famous ancient bearers, both easy to explain.
- Zen is a short, distinctive nickname that is already an English word.
- The spelling is short, phonetic and needs no accents.
- Two vowel readings circulate for the first syllable.
- It is close to Zeno and Xenon, one a related name and one a noble gas.
- It is rare in the United States and will be spelled out routinely.
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Zenon
Masculine · #5861 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zenons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Zenon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zenon in 2025?
- Zenon ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zenon?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Zenon — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zenon with classmates?
- Zenon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zenon
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eber#5861 · Wilton#5861 · Ruby#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Severin#5861 · Newton#5861
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zenon? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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