Zel
The Story of Zel
As a girl name
Zel first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 2018, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2019: 7 births, good for #12,446 nationwide. Zel last appeared in the published SSA data in 2019, with 7 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 13 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2010s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
American parents first put Zel on the record books as a boy name in 1971, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 2019, when 11 Zels were born — ranking #7,170 that year. About 69% of every Zel on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. Zel last appeared in the published SSA data in 2019, with 11 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 16 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Zel
Phonetically similar names — useful when Zel is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Zel
What does the name Zel mean?
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About the name Zel
Zel is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1971 and has accumulated 16 births in the dataset. Zel's peak popularity came in 2019 when it ranked #7,170. Use the chart and map above to compare Zel's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2019 →
- Names of the 2010s →
- Names starting with "Z" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.