Zayd
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Meaning
means 'growth, abundance, increase'
The story
Zayd means growth or increase in Arabic, but its most striking story is about a name left standing in a sacred text. Zayd ibn Harithah had been enslaved, freed, and treated as an adopted son by the Prophet Muhammad. Islamic tradition remembers him as a close companion. In the Quran, the chapter al-Ahzab addresses a difficult change in adoption and marriage customs, and one verse names Zayd directly. He is the only companion of Muhammad to appear there by name. That distinction should not turn his life into a decorative claim or erase the serious legal and family questions around the passage. It does show how personal a scriptural sentence can become. Among titles, kinship terms, and divine instruction, one short name remains audible. Zayd's meaning and Zayd ibn Harithah's life are related only by language and association, not destiny. The name carries growth as an etymology and remembrance as a separate cultural inheritance.
How popular is Zayd around the world?
In the United States, 2,166 babies were named Zayd between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 560 boys named Zayd were born in 2025, the 105th most common name among boys that year.
Zayd is on the official records of the United States, France, England and Wales, Canada, Austria, Ireland, Scotland, South Australia, Chile, Mexico City, Spain, Poland and Argentina.
United States
1 in 10,000
In the United States, 2,166 babies were named Zayd between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Zayd peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
France
1 in 1,100
In France, about 560 boys named Zayd were born in 2025, the 105th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
England and Wales
1 in 2,100
In England and Wales, 285 boys named Zayd were born in 2025, the 181st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 2,700
In Canada, 134 boys named Zayd were born in 2024, the 242nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
1 in 5,400
In Austria, 14 boys named Zayd were born in 2025, the 374th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Ireland
1 in 6,000
In Ireland, 9 boys named Zayd were born in 2025, the 402nd most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 7,600
In Scotland, 6 boys named Zayd were registered in 2024, the 478th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 boys were registered as Zayd in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Chile
1 in 36,000
In Chile, 5 boys were registered as Zayd in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Zayd in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 66,000
In Spain, 683 residents are named Zayd, ranked 1,844th among men, with a mean age of 9.8 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Poland
1 in 120,000
In Poland, 2 boys named Zayd were born in 2025, the 705th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Argentina
1 in 220,000
In Argentina, 3 newborns were given the name Zayd in 2024.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and New Zealand: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Zayd
Most people given the name Zayd in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Zayd deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Zayd truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Zayd fits with your family’s names and surname.
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