Zendaya
About Zendaya
Zendaya has propelled her unusual African name into the spotlight and up the popularity charts. Zendaya is one of the major baby name influencers of our era.
What does Zendaya's name mean? The name Zendaya comes from the word for thanks, Tendai, in the Shona language, spoken in Zimbabwe and southern Zambia.
The name Zendaya's popularity is directly connected to this actress-singer's rising celebrity, as it made its first appearance on the US Top 1000 in 2014. It's a distinctive choice, and thanks to our affection for the letter Z and Zendaya's great meaning, more parents are choosing it for their daughters.
The emphasis is on the middle syllable, which is pronounced like day NOT die.
Pronounced zen-DY-uh.
As of October 2026, Zendaya ranked #1189 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #679 in 2022, Nameberry popularity #703.
Editor: Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #886 | 307 | 171.9 |
| 2015 | #788 | 358 | 200.5 |
| 2016 | #913 | 304 | 171.6 |
| 2017 | #1,000 | 260 | 150.6 |
| 2018 | #1,063 | 241 | 141.7 |
| 2019 | #995 | 260 | 154.9 |
| 2020 | #965 | 264 | 163.3 |
| 2021 | #873 | 313 | 190.8 |
| 2022 | #679 | 430 | 262.2 |
| 2023 | #833 | 330 | 205.7 |
| 2024 | #942 | 279 | 172.2 |
| 2025 | #1,189 | 195 | 121.3 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Zendaya.
- Trinity
- Renesmee
- Chanel
- Roxi
- Raeleigh
- Destiny
- Dasani
- Harmony
- Crystal
- Nala
- Nevaeh
- Paris
- Tori
- Kailynn
- Angel
- Mailani
- Roxy
- Serenity
- Tia
- Keke
Zendaya on lists
Famous Zendayas
- Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman
American actress