Given name
Zephaniah
“God has hidden”
Zephaniah is used as a given name. One Hebrew interpretation is “God has hidden.”
Original Hebrewצפניה
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “God has hidden.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1972. 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 Zephaniah appears in 1 Chronicles 6:36.
From biblical name research
Zephaniah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,857
- 3,380 boys · 477 girls
- Most popular year
- 2019
- 194 babies
- 2025
- 143
- #1,458 for boys · #6,111 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −14%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 87% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 123 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,458 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 11.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 171 in 2019. It also appeared in 20 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (15). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,359 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.
Zephaniah’s family of names
In English usage, Zephaniah has a diminutive in Zeph. Zephaniah has a related form in Zephan. Zephaniah has a related form in Zeph.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Zephaniah has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
5 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Zephanvariant
- Zephdiminutive · English
- Zephaniavariant
- Zefaniyavariant
- Zephaniyavariant
- Zefanevariant
- Zefanvariant
- Zephanevariant
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 11
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Shaphanshares a root
- Zephonshares a root
- Zephishares a root
- Ishpanshares a root
- Zuphshares a root
- Zophaishares a root
- Ziphionshares a root
- Zaphonshares a root
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People named Zephaniah
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Zephaniah, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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