The name Zendaya is a girl's name of African origin meaning "to give thanks". Zendaya is ranked #999 on our popularity charts and is often added to lists like Gorgeous Autumn Baby Names and discussed in our forums with posts like "Names on NB that make you go WOW!".
From the experts:
Disney Channel star and recording artist Zendaya's unusual name comes from the word for thanks, Tendai, in the Shona language, spoken in Zimbabwe and southern Zambia. Its popularity is directly connected to this actress-singer's rising celebrity, as it only just 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.
Zendaya in Blog Posts
Comments
maddiepie Says:
pam Says:
Thank you for the information, @LiliC ! It's difficult to get complete information about names from some languages and regions. Do you know anything about the name Zendaya? Are Tatenda and Tinotenda and Nokutenda names in Shona?
LiliC Says:
Point of Correction...Zendaya is NOT a SHONA name please.
In Shona "To give thanks" is KUTENDA
More common variations are TATENDA and TINOTENDA and NOKUTENDA
OliviaSarah Says:
Zendaya isn't related to the name Shona. ''Shona'' is the name of the language which it comes from, but as a name itself Shona is of entirely different origin - they developed in opposite ends of the world!
wavygirl Says:
Really Awesome!! Like Shana and Shona better tho.
Daily Delivery
Exclusive Nameberry picks, direct to you.
the name zendaya is kind of weird but cool at the same time