Zeynep
Feminine · “a fragrant flowering plant”
Zeynep is the Turkish of Zaynab — a fragrant desert plant — and it has been near the top of the Turkish girls' list for decades.
How old is the name Zeynep?
Zeynep first appears in US birth records in 1981 — 44 years ago. The typical Zeynep is a kid of about 7 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,400 people named Zeynep are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zeynep most popular?
Zeynep peaked in 2022, reaching #1548 nationally. Today it ranks #2076, 528 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Zaynab to Zeynep
The story of Zeynep
Zaynab was the name of the Prophet's eldest daughter and of one of his wives, and of Ali and Fatimah's daughter, who survived Karbala and carried the account of it. Turkish reshaped it as Zeynep, which has been among the most-used Turkish girls' names for generations. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
a fragrant flowering plant
From the Arabic Zaynab, generally read as the name of a fragrant flowering desert shrub. A second reading treats it as zayn, 'beauty', plus ab, 'father'. The plant reading is commoner. Turkish made Zeynep. Neither reading is fully settled.
How the name formed
- Zaynab
- Zeynep
Related forms: Zeynep · زينب · Zainab
Pronouncing Zeynep
ZAY-nep
Two syllables, stress on the first. Turkish gives both vowels a crisp full value.
Nicknames for Zeynep
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
- 1981
- Most girls named
- 2022138 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1548reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- −16.7%90 in 2025, from 108
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.
Zeynep in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zeynep in Turkish — same name
- زينب in Arabic — related form
- Zainab in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Zeyneps among us
people named Zeynep are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 17,859 born in 2025 was named Zeynep
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 Markeisha test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zeynep's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Markeisha climbed just as high around 1992, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Markeisha's path sketches the road Zeynep is walking now.
Zeynep 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 Zeynep is headed
Zeynep looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 20% 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.
Zeynep beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zeynep in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The fragrant-plant reading is concrete and attractive.
- Three women central to early Islam carry the Arabic form.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk in English.
- The two readings of the Arabic are quite different.
- Zainab and Zeynep look unrelated on the page.
- It reads as specifically Turkish.
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What they receive
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Zeynep
Feminine · #2076 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zeyneps are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Zeynep are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zeynep in 2025?
- Zeynep ranks #2076 among US girl names in 2025, with 90 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zeynep?
- About 1 in every 17,859 US girls born in 2025 was named Zeynep — 90 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zeynep with classmates?
- Zeynep will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zeynep
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Everlynn#2076 · Scotland#2076 · Iylah#2076 · Blayke#2076 · Acelynn#2076 · Lilyann#2076 · Taliah#2076 · Shaindy#2076
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zeynep? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zeynep 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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