Is Zen a boy or girl name?

Zen is mostly a boy’s name. Of the 3,313 Americans recorded with the name since 1880, 18.0% were girls and 82.0% were boys.

Name Legacy

Zen

Recorded 1969–2025 · United States

Zen was most popular in 2022, when 321 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,635 that year. In 2025 it ranked #2,032, with 228 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 3,313 people named Zen.

Zen over time

Births per year. The dot marks Zen’s peak in 2022. Gaps are years the SSA suppressed, which it does for any name given to fewer than five babies.

Is Zen a boy’s or a girl’s name?

Across the whole record Zen is mostly a boy’s name — 18.0% of the 3,313 Americans given it were girls and 82.0% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 21% girls and 79% boys.

Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.

Names that peaked alongside Zen

Where Zen is most concentrated

How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.

Explore further

See Zen on the interactive charts

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org