Zion
Meaning
a sacred hill in Jerusalem, symbol of a promised homeland; a name rich with spiritual meaning
The story
Zion is a place before it is a person: a hill in Jerusalem, and then, by extension, the city, the people and the promised home. That widening is what made it portable. Rastafari thought carried Zion far from its geography, and reggae carried Rastafari further still, which is much of why the word reaches American families with warmth rather than formality. Our own data files the name in both African American and Filipino naming communities. In US records the shape is unusually abrupt: about 1,900 babies in the 1990s, then 14,300 in the 2000s, a sevenfold jump across a single decade boundary. Decade buckets are too coarse to pin that on any one moment, and we will not pretend otherwise, but a change that sharp usually means a name became audible somewhere with reach.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Zion peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
2,253 people · the #4,717 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 90,909 · median age 3
Among people named Zion living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 1,262 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Zion
Most people given the name Zion in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Zion deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Zion truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Zion fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Zion travels
Filipino · highest point, heavenly city
Keep exploring
Names like Zion · Middle names for Zion · Filipino baby names · African American baby names · Short names · Gender-neutral names
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