# Zelda (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/zelda/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈzɛldə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 16,739 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 5 / 16,734 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 441, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Shortened from Griselda.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 81 | 2,325 |
| 2012 | 139 | 1,574 |
| 2013 | 183 | 1,288 |
| 2014 | 214 | 1,160 |
| 2015 | 443 | 649 |
| 2016 | 426 | 688 |
| 2017 | 456 | 650 |
| 2018 | 442 | 668 |
| 2019 | 436 | 665 |
| 2020 | 526 | 559 |
| 2021 | 492 | 608 |
| 2022 | 435 | 672 |
| 2023 | 403 | 705 |
| 2024 | 377 | 749 |
| 2025 | 328 | 832 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 5 | 4,283 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5 | 4,049 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2,969 |
| 2013 | 6 | 3,536 |
| 2014 | 11 | 2,314 |
| 2015 | 27 | 1,240 |
| 2016 | 25 | 1,327 |
| 2017 | 26 | 1,296 |
| 2018 | 22 | 1,436 |
| 2019 | 32 | 1,063 |
| 2020 | 50 | 735 |
| 2021 | 44 | 812 |
| 2022 | 31 | 1,081 |
| 2023 | 42 | 851 |
| 2024 | 29 | 1,160 |
| 2025 | 38 | 922 |

## People named Zelda

- Zelda Fitzgerald, American writer (1900–1948)
- Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (1933-2010)
- Zelda Harris, American actress
- Zelda Sears, actress, novelist, screenwriter and businesswoman (1873-1935)
- Jackie Ormes, cartoonist (1911-1985)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.