Zinedine
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Meaning
from Arabic Zayn al-Din, 'ornament of the faith'; famously borne by Zinedine Zidane
The story
Zinedine comes from the Arabic Zayn al-Din, ornament of the faith, an honorific that traveled from the medieval Islamic world into North African family life. One bearer made it global. Zinedine Zidane, born in Marseille to Algerian parents, headed home two goals in the 1998 World Cup final to give France its first title, scored one of the most celebrated volleys ever seen to win the 2002 Champions League final, and later managed Real Madrid to three straight European crowns. Zizou, as France calls him, turned an uncommon name into shorthand for elegance under pressure. In American records Zinedine is a genuine rarity: nothing at all across more than a century, then a first faint trace in the 2020s. A family that chooses it gets deep Arabic roots, a French lilt, and one incomparable namesake, with the near certainty of never meeting another.
How popular is Zinedine around the world?
In the United States, 18 babies were named Zinedine between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 20 boys named Zinedine were born in 2025, ranked 1,600th among boys that year.
Zinedine is on the official records of the United States, France, Canada, England and Wales, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 1.2M
In the United States, 18 babies were named Zinedine between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Zinedine has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
France
1 in 32,000
In France, about 20 boys named Zinedine were born in 2025, ranked 1,600th 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)
Canada
1 in 61,000
In Canada, 6 boys named Zinedine were born in 2024, ranked 2,855th among boys that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
England and Wales
1 in 120,000
In England and Wales, 5 boys named Zinedine were born in 2025, ranked 3,684th 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
Spain
1 in 620,000
In Spain, 72 residents are named Zinedine, ranked 10,785th among men, with a mean age of 15.1 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
Argentina
last on record 2023
Zinedine is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Austria
last on record 2020
Zinedine is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 42 people in Brazil were named Zinedine, ranked 74,979th, with a median age of 16.
Among people named Zinedine living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Chile
last on record 2018
Zinedine is not on the 2021 record for Chile, where nametree keeps the spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year.
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
last on record 2021
Zinedine is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
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
Montevideo City
last on record 2006
Zinedine is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Poland
last on record 2021
Zinedine is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 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)
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: 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.
Keep exploring
The Zinedine deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Zinedine 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 Zinedine fits with your family’s names and surname.
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