Zvi
Masculine · “Hebrew "deer”
Ashkenazi Jewish naming often came in pairs: a Hebrew name for religious use and a Yiddish one that translates it for daily life. Zvi is a deer, and its Yiddish partner is Hirsch, which is a deer in German — the same man was Zvi Hirsch, twice over.
How old is the name Zvi?
Zvi first appears in US birth records in 1951 — 74 years ago. The typical Zvi alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 600 people named Zvi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zvi most popular?
Zvi peaked in 1967, reaching #2352 nationally. Today it ranks #7679, 5,327 places below that high. See the whole 1967 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From tsvi to Zvi
The story of Zvi
The double-name convention was practical: the Hebrew name was used when a man was called to the Torah and in legal documents, and the Yiddish name in ordinary life, and pairing them by meaning kept the two connected. The animal pairs are the most systematic — lion, bear, wolf, deer — and they produced the surnames Hirsch, Hirschberg, Loeb, Lowe, Berman and Wolf across Central and Eastern Europe. Modern Israeli usage dropped the Yiddish half, and Zvi stands alone as a common men's name there. The American figures peak in 1967.
Meaning
Hebrew "deer, gazelle"
From Hebrew tsvi, a deer or gazelle, the animal praised for speed and grace in the Hebrew Bible. The paired-name system, called shem hakodesh and kinnui, gives each man a sacred name and a vernacular one that usually translates it: Zvi with Hirsch, Aryeh with Leib for lion, Dov with Ber for bear, Ze'ev with Wolf. In Jacob's blessing in Genesis, Naphtali is compared to a deer, which links the name to that tribe.
How the name formed
- tsvi
- Zvi
Related forms: צבי · Hirsch · Tzvi
Pronouncing Zvi
tsvee
One syllable. The z represents the Hebrew letter tsade, a ts sound, so the name begins with the ts of cats followed immediately by a v — a cluster English never uses at the start of a word.
Nicknames for Zvi
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
- 1951
- Most boys named
- 197916 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2352reached in 1967
- Change vs 2024
- −9.1%10 in 2025, from 11
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.
Zvi in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- צבי in Hebrew — transliteration
- Hirsch in Yiddish — related form
- Tzvi in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey.
Zvis among us
people named Zvi are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 170,808 born in 2025 was named Zvi
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 Fortino test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zvi's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Fortino climbed just as high around 1947, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Fortino's path sketches the road Zvi is walking now.
Zvi 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
Zvi beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zvi in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, short and vivid.
- It is three letters and simple to write.
- It is a fully established Israeli name.
- The initial cluster is impossible for most English speakers.
- Tzvi and Zvi are competing transliterations.
- Very short names are sometimes rejected by forms.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Zvi to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Zvi? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Zvi
Masculine · #7679 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zvis 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 Zvi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zvi in 2025?
- Zvi ranks #7679 among US boy names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zvi?
- About 1 in every 170,808 US boys born in 2025 was named Zvi — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zvi with classmates?
- Zvi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zvi
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Early#7679 · Obie#7679 · Huston#7679 · Knute#7679 · Rance#7679 · Blain#7679 · Doyle#7679 · Millard#7679
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zvi? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zvi and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle