Given name
Zebadiah
“a gift from God”
Zebadiah is used as a given name. One Hebrew interpretation is “a gift from God.”
Original Hebrewזבדיה
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “a gift from God.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
From Hebrew זְבַדְיָה (Zəḇaḏyâ, “gift of God, God has bestowed”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1974. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Zebadiah appears in 1 Chronicles 8:15.
From biblical name research
Zebadiah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,112
- 1,112 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2001
- 49 babies
- 2025
- 31
- #3,656 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +18%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 31 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,656 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 18.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 49 in 2001. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 723 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Zebadiah’s family of names
In English usage, Zebadiah has a diminutive in Zeb. In English usage, Zebadiah shares an earlier linguistic root with Zebedee. In English usage, Zebadiah has a related form in Zebediah.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
See also 10
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Zabdielshares a root
- Zabdishares a root
- Zabudshares a root
- Zabbudshares a root
- Zabbaishares a root
- Zabadshares a root
- Zebidahshares a root
- Jozabadshares a root
Show 2 moreShow fewer
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