Zeb vs Zebadiah
American parents have registered 2,750 Zebs since 1880, against 1,112 Zebadiahs. But in 2025 it was Zebadiah that was commoner, 31 babies to 12.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Zeb Zebadiah
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 145 years in which either name was published, Zeb for 126 years and Zebadiah for 19 years. The lead changed hands 15 times.
- 1880–1984 Zeb ahead
- 1985–1987 Zebadiah ahead
- 1993–1995 Zeb ahead
- 1996–1999 Zebadiah ahead
- 2002–2014 Zeb ahead
- 2019–2025 Zebadiah ahead
10 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Zeb | Zebadiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 2,750 | 1,112 |
| Most in one year | 65 | 49 |
| Babies in 2025 | 12 | 31 |
| Estimated living today | 1,600 | 1,100 |
| Median age today | 33 | 24 |
| Peak year | 1979 | 2001 |
| Best rank | 1,108th boys | 2,117th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 6,803rd | 3,583rd |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1974 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 2,750 | 0 / 1,112 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Zebs alive today are over 33; half the Zebadiahs are over 24. That is 9 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Zeb and Zebadiah.