Unisex name ★ peaked 2023

Zion

Gender Unisex · 13% girls Rank 2025 #142 Trend ↑ Rising 11%

Zion is a given name and surname derived from the ancient Canaanite hill fortress in Jerusalem called the City of David.

Rank 2025
#142
among boys · ↑10 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,590
named Zion · +5% vs 2024
How common
1 in 684
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2023
3,020 babies
All-time total
53,897
#532 all-time among boys
First recorded
1917
in Social Security records

Zion popularity over time

53,897 babies have been named Zion since 1917, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 6 6 1 – #3,980
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s – – – – – –
1970s – 57 57 6 – #3,119
1980s 11 86 97 10 +70% #3,730
1990s 286 1,605 1,891 189 +1849% #274
2000s 2,711 11,635 14,346 1,435 +659% #230
2010s 3,213 17,789 21,002 2,100 +46% #153
2020s (to 2025) 805 15,693 16,498 2,750 +31% #125

Where Zion is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 2,536 1.48 #141
2027 2,570 1.50 #139
2028 2,600 1.52 #138
2029 2,626 1.54 #137
2030 2,647 1.55 #137

Where Zion is most popular

Boys named Zion per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.52 per 1,000. Strongest in Hawaii, District of Columbia, and Alaska.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Zion born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Hawaii 87 5.60 +268%
District of Columbia 60 4.06 +167%
Alaska 41 3.44 +126%
Rhode Island 56 3.43 +125%
Delaware 52 3.43 +125%
Nevada 162 2.84 +87%
Maryland 326 2.73 +79%
Georgia 643 2.54 +67%
Florida 1,157 2.44 +60%
New Mexico 78 2.37 +55%
Connecticut 151 2.23 +46%
Massachusetts 292 2.12 +39%
Mississippi 115 2.02 +33%
South Dakota 37 1.99 +31%
Arkansas 120 1.90 +24%
Pennsylvania 503 1.89 +24%
Louisiana 193 1.89 +24%
New Jersey 379 1.88 +24%
New York 793 1.83 +20%
Arizona 296 1.81 +19%
Alabama 197 1.80 +18%
Virginia 338 1.78 +17%
Washington 284 1.74 +14%
South Carolina 177 1.71 +12%
Nebraska 74 1.70 +12%
Michigan 345 1.68 +11%
Kansas 115 1.68 +10%
North Carolina 415 1.63 +7%
Oklahoma 142 1.61 +5%
California 1,456 1.59 +5%
Colorado 204 1.58 ≈ national
Minnesota 192 1.57 ≈ national
Ohio 414 1.56 ≈ national
Texas 1,372 1.56 ≈ national
Indiana 248 1.55 ≈ national
Missouri 206 1.49 ≈ national
Illinois 377 1.48 ≈ national
Oregon 109 1.44 -6%
Tennessee 253 1.40 -8%
New Hampshire 31 1.40 -8%
Iowa 93 1.35 -11%
Wisconsin 157 1.33 -13%
Utah 126 1.32 -13%
Montana 23 1.30 -14%
Maine 23 1.19 -22%
North Dakota 20 1.17 -23%
Kentucky 117 1.17 -23%
Idaho 33 0.806 -47%
Vermont 5 0.796 -48%
West Virginia 25 0.766 -50%
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Zion

Zion is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #142 in 2025 with 2,496 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1917, 53,897 American babies have been named Zion, about 87% boys and 13% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2023, when 3,020 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Zion stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Zion?

The median living Zion is about 10 years old; half are between 4 and 17. An estimated 53 thousand people named Zion are alive in the United States today.

median 10 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Zion year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 94 #2,035 2,496 #142
2024 105 #1,912 2,369 #152
2023 131 #1,602 2,889 #125
2022 139 #1,547 2,634 #143
2021 150 #1,440 2,769 #136
2020 186 #1,230 2,536 #143
2019 205 #1,169 2,551 #153
2018 248 #1,042 2,183 #181
2017 287 #924 1,978 #199
2016 298 #927 1,849 #213
2015 309 #895 1,694 #227
2014 298 #910 1,484 #254
2013 328 #822 1,531 #236
2012 354 #778 1,533 #235
2011 472 #613 1,456 #245
2010 414 #691 1,530 #229
2009 394 #736 1,473 #240
2008 435 #695 1,601 #230
2007 524 #575 1,553 #234
2006 337 #811 1,302 #265
2005 248 #988 1,120 #293
2004 212 #1,085 1,008 #311
2003 137 #1,445 879 #329
2002 125 #1,519 828 #333
2001 143 #1,347 867 #324
2000 156 #1,261 1,004 #300
1995 10 #8,762 40 #2,101
1990 – – 9 #5,819
1985 5 #12,503 9 #4,697
1980 – – 6 #6,246
1975 – – 8 #4,308
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Zion

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Zion Williamson Zion Williamson American basketball player (born 2000) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Zion, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Zion?

The median living Zion is about 10 years old. Half of all living Zions are between 4 and 17 years old.

How many people named Zion are alive today?

An estimated 53 thousand people named Zion are alive in the United States, based on 53,897 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Zion mean?

Zion is a given name and surname derived from the ancient Canaanite hill fortress in Jerusalem called the City of David.

How popular is the name Zion in 2025?

Zion ranked #142 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,496 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Zion?

53,897 babies have been named Zion in the United States since 1917, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Zion most popular?

Zion peaked in 2023, when 3,020 newborns received the name.

Is Zion a boy or girl name?

Zion is used for both: about 13% of babies named Zion have been girls and 87% boys.

Is the name Zion rising or falling?

Zion is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Zion become more popular?

Zion looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,647 boys named Zion in 2030, ranking around #137. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Zion?

Well-known people named Zion include Zion Williamson (basketball player).

Names like Zion

Names that sound and feel close to Zion: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Zion with similar names → More names starting with Z →