Meaning of the nameZé
Zé is a traditional nickname for José, from the Hebrew Yosef, and has also become a registered name in Brazil.
Meaning
“short form of José, 'he will add'”
Source: Wiktionary: Zé (Portuguese) · Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Ze · Behind the Name: Joseph
- People (2022)
- 12,701
- Rank in Brazil
- #1,447
- Median age
- 55 years
- 2010 Census
- 12,799
- people
Zé in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Zé, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1960s (3,038 people).
183 women 12,518 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Zé is most common
States with the highest share of people named Zé in the population, in the 2022 Census.
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| Bahia | 1,691 | 0.012% |
| Maranhão | 1,582 | 0.023% |
| Minas Gerais | 1,563 | 0.008% |
| Ceará | 1,070 | 0.012% |
| Pará | 931 | 0.012% |
| São Paulo | 922 | 0.002% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 705 | 0.004% |
| Pernambuco | 554 | 0.006% |
| Goiás | 448 | 0.006% |
| Piauí | 346 | 0.011% |
| Espírito Santo | 328 | 0.009% |
| Sergipe | 319 | 0.014% |
| Tocantins | 256 | 0.017% |
| Mato Grosso | 245 | 0.007% |
| Alagoas | 233 | 0.007% |
| Amazonas | 232 | 0.006% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 229 | 0.007% |
| Paraíba | 211 | 0.005% |
| Paraná | 189 | 0.002% |
| Distrito Federal | 130 | 0.005% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 114 | 0.001% |
| Rondônia | 102 | 0.007% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 82 | 0.003% |
| Acre | 71 | 0.009% |
| Santa Catarina | 57 | 0.001% |
| Amapá | 49 | 0.007% |
| Roraima | 42 | 0.007% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Zé
Wiktionary records Zé as a diminutive of José and also of the compound female name Maria José; the Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil (Dictionary of Names in Use in Brazil) cites José Pedro Machado, for whom Zé is a pet form of José. José comes, through the Latin Iosephus and the Greek Iōsḗph, from the Hebrew Yosef, which Behind the Name translates as 'he will add'. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 12,701 people named Zé, almost always male. Proportionally, the name is most common in Maranhão.
Sources
- Wiktionary: Zé (Portuguese) · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Ze · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · meaning
- Wiktionary: José (Portuguese) · en.wiktionary.org · origin
- Behind the Name: Joseph · behindthename.com · meaning
Questions about the name Zé
What does the name Zé mean?
Zé means “short form of José, 'he will add'”, according to Wiktionary and Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil.
How many people are named Zé in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 12,701 people with the first name Zé, which ranks it number 1,447 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1960s.
Is Zé a boy's or a girl's name?
Zé is a male name: in the 2022 Census, 183 women and 12,518 men had this name.
What is the origin of the name Zé?
Zé is a name of Hebrew origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Zé most common?
Proportionally, in Maranhão: 0.023% of the state's population is named Zé (1,582 people), according to the 2022 Census.
More names of Hebrew origin
See allSpotted a mistake? Report a correction for Zé with a source. See the methodology.