Zebedee

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Boy · Hebrew, through Greek

Zebedee

Say it: ZEB-uh-dee

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Greek form of Hebrew Zevadyah, 'gift of YHWH'.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Used occasionally in England and America, often shortened to Zeb.

Its wave through time

Rare in the records

In the United States

020406018801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1907per million babies of that sex
  • 1,154 babies given this name since 1907
  • At its height in 1907, about 1 in 21,000 boys
  • 13 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100
  2. The Colonial Americas1500 to 1800
  3. Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914

Used by

Early ChristianHebrewEnglish

The family of the name

FrenchZébédée
SpanishZebedeo
ItalianZebedeo
GermanZebedäus

Famous bearers

  • Zebedee, father of the apostles James and John

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
  • Parish baptism registers
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.