NameTides

Zen

Zen was the #1,141 boys' name in the US in 2025 (185 babies), and #1,153 in England & Wales and #1,944 in Canada.

Zen as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
Zen as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Ireland, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.00.050.10.150.218801900192019401960198020002020IrelandUSEngland & WalesCanada
Zen as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Ireland, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.00.050.10.150.21880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandIrelandCanada
2025#1,141 (185)#1,153 (25)—#829 (3)#1,944 (10)
2024#955 (238)#1,108 (26)——#1,432 (15)
2023#935 (242)#1,533 (16)—#770 (3)#1,592 (12)
2022#905 (256)#1,224 (22)——#1,092 (20)
2021#1,182 (166)#1,117 (25)——#1,230 (17)
2020#1,196 (160)#1,935 (11)——#2,013 (8)
2019#1,386 (128)#1,506 (16)——#2,189 (7)
2018#1,521 (112)#1,610 (15)——#1,572 (11)
2017#1,707 (92)#1,546 (16)——#1,510 (12)
2016#1,959 (74)#1,363 (19)——#2,182 (7)
2015#1,931 (75)#1,786 (13)——#1,577 (11)
2014#1,714 (88)#2,459 (8)——#2,667 (5)
2013#2,113 (63)#3,315 (5)——#2,305 (6)
2012#2,292 (56)#3,039 (6)——#1,781 (9)
2011#2,105 (63)#2,194 (9)——#2,125 (7)

Zen as a girl’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Canada
Zen as a girl’s name, US, England & Wales, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.00.010.030.040.0518801900192019401960198020002020USEngland & Wales
Zen as a girl’s name, US, England & Wales, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.00.010.030.040.051880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesCanada
2025#3,517 (43)#4,867 (4)—
2024#3,695 (41)#5,892 (3)—
2023#2,823 (60)#3,599 (6)#3,290 (5)
2022#2,661 (65)#5,670 (3)#3,228 (5)
2021#3,112 (52)——
2020#3,221 (48)——
2019#3,388 (46)——
2018#4,562 (30)#4,684 (4)—
2017#5,338 (24)——
2016#5,284 (25)——
2015#5,653 (23)——
2014#9,517 (11)——
2013#11,000 (9)——
2012#7,804 (15)——
2011#8,614 (13)——

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 2022 at #905.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • First recorded in the US in 1969.
  • In 2025, 19% of US babies named Zen were girls.

How common is it?

about 1 in 9,300 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet fewer than 1. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 9,300uncommon
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 11,000rare
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 7,900uncommon
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 16,000rare
USGirls2025about 1 in 37,000rare
England & WalesGirls2025about 1 in 63,000rare

Next year

On its recent trend, Zen is likely to keep rising in the US in 2026: about 1 in 7,600 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 5,000 to 1 in 12,000.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Zen by state, 2025Alaska: fewer than 5 babiesAKMaine: fewer than 5 babiesMEWisconsin: fewer than 5 babiesWIVermont: fewer than 5 babiesVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 babiesNHWashington: #639WAIdaho: fewer than 5 babiesIDMontana: fewer than 5 babiesMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesNDMinnesota: fewer than 5 babiesMNIllinois: fewer than 5 babiesILMichigan: #999MINew York: #692NYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 babiesMAOregon: fewer than 5 babiesORNevada: fewer than 5 babiesNVWyoming: fewer than 5 babiesWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesSDIowa: fewer than 5 babiesIAIndiana: fewer than 5 babiesINOhio: #1,267OHPennsylvania: fewer than 5 babiesPANew Jersey: #707NJConnecticut: fewer than 5 babiesCTRhode Island: fewer than 5 babiesRICalifornia: #1,011CAUtah: fewer than 5 babiesUTColorado: #756CONebraska: fewer than 5 babiesNEMissouri: fewer than 5 babiesMOKentucky: fewer than 5 babiesKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 babiesWVVirginia: fewer than 5 babiesVAMaryland: #516MDDelaware: fewer than 5 babiesDEArizona: #927AZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 babiesNMKansas: fewer than 5 babiesKSArkansas: fewer than 5 babiesARTennessee: fewer than 5 babiesTNNorth Carolina: #873NCSouth Carolina: fewer than 5 babiesSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 babiesDCOklahoma: fewer than 5 babiesOKLouisiana: fewer than 5 babiesLAMississippi: fewer than 5 babiesMSAlabama: fewer than 5 babiesALGeorgia: #673GAHawaii: fewer than 5 babiesHITexas: #1,217TXFlorida: #846FL
Zen (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Ontario2024#1,2178

Zen (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
ZenCanadaGirls—too few
ZenCanadaBoys#1,94410
ZenEngland & WalesGirls#4,8674
ZenEngland & WalesBoys#1,15325
ZenIrelandBoys#8293
ZenNorthern IrelandBoys—too few
ZenScotlandBoys—too few
ZenUSGirls#3,51743
ZenUSBoys#1,141185