Zelda

Did you know?

A few things about Zelda you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Zelda

Zelda Williams

American actress

Choose Zelda and your child shares a first name with Zelda Williams, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Zelda, like who?” Zelda Williams's Wikipedia article is available in 55 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Zelda Williams on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: pinguino k from North Hollywood, USA, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 4,900 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Zelda, 328 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Zelda would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryZelda has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Zeldas, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1911, when it reached #374.
• 📈Then vs nowZelda is 12× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 58,480 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 4,900.
• 🍂TrendZelda has slipped 274 places over the last five years and now sits at #832. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedZelda is most popular in Oklahoma, where it ranks #483, followed by Arizona (#578) and Oregon (#619). It's in the top 1,000 in 21 states.
• 💬MeaningZelda is a German form of Griselda, which means “gray battle”. Our records link it to English, Hebrew and Old German roots.
• 🌍OriginZelda is the #10 most popular Old German girl name in the US. That's out of 23 Old German girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Zelda

Zelda is a girl name of English, Hebrew and Old German origin meaning “gray battle”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with Z and ending in “-lda”. US birth records list Zelda for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 144 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1911, when it ranked #374 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #832, with 328 babies.

Origin:English namesHebrew namesOld German names