Zelda
Meaning
possibly a feminine form of the Yiddish Zelig, 'blessed, happy', or a short form of Griselda
One Zelda, two histories
Yiddish · possibly a feminine form of the Yiddish Zelig, 'blessed, happy', or a short form of Griselda.
Griselda · Zelda is also an established short form of Griselda.
The story
Zelda is possibly a feminine form of Zelig, the Yiddish name meaning "blessed, happy", a vernacular form of Asher, and Behind the Name's second entry for it adds a different road: a short form of Griselda. The American record gave it a first life early: about 1,850 girls in the 1910s and about 2,380 in the 1920s, within the lifetime of the socialite Zelda Fitzgerald, then a long fade to about 140 in the 1990s. The second life has a receipt of its own: the princess of the Legend of Zelda games, debuting in 1986, was named by her creator Shigeru Miyamoto after Fitzgerald herself. The record's return came later: about 2,890 girls in the 2010s and about 2,560 so far this decade. A name that came back carrying a tribute to the woman from its first run.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Zelda peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
518 people · the #13,050 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 333,333 · median age 59
Among people named Zelda living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Zelda
People given the name Zelda in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2025. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Zelda deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Zelda 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 Zelda fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Zelda travels
Jewish American · A Jewish American heirloom name closely associated with writer Zelda Fitzgerald.
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