Given name & surname
Zoe
“a life-giving woman; alive”
Zoe is used as a given name and a surname. One Greek interpretation is “a life-giving woman; alive.”
Original GreekΖωή
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “a life-giving woman; alive.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Zoe through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 163,853
- 597 boys · 163,256 girls
- Most popular year
- 2012
- 6,483 babies
- 2025
- 5,659
- #31 for girls · #6,802 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +2%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5,646 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 31 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 1.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 6,466 in 2012. It also appeared in 13 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (770). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 125,886 as a first name in 2020; 185 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Zoe’s family of names
In English usage, Zoe has a diminutive in Zo. In Czech usage, Zoe shares a linguistic root with ZOJA. In German usage, Zoe has a related form in Zoey.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Zoe has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
8 related names in 8 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 23
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 10
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- ΖωήGreek
- Zoilaequivalent
- Zoellaequivalent
- Zojacognate · Polish, Latvian
- Sojaequivalent
- ⲍⲱⲏequivalent
- Зояequivalent
- ЗоиRussian
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People named Zoe
- Zoe SaldañaAmerican actress, dancer, and model (born 1978)
- Zoe PorphyrogenitaByzantine Empress978–1050
- Zoe KazanAmerican actressborn 1983
- Zoe KarbonopsinaByzantine Emperor's wife900–1000
- Zoe SuggBritish vloggerborn 1990
- Zoe PerryAmerican actressborn 1983
- Zoe AkinsPlaywright, poet, author (1886–1958)
- Zoe ZaoutzainaByzantine empress
- Zoe CaldwellAustralian actress (1933–2020)
Characters named Zoe: Zoe Orimoto (Digimon Frontier), Zoe Heriot (the TV series Doctor Who).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Zoe, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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