Zoe
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Meaning
"life," the word Hellenistic Jews chose to render Eve; borne by an early martyr and Byzantine empresses, then rediscovered by the modern world with all its brightness intact. Three letters, two sounds, one of the oldest meanings there is
The story
Zoe is the Greek word for life itself. When Greek-speaking Jews translated the Hebrew Bible, they rendered Eve, the mother of all the living, as Zoe, and the name spread through the early Christian world on the strength of that promise, worn by martyrs and, centuries later, by an eleventh-century Byzantine empress. It traveled quietly through Europe ever after, always most at home in Greek families. In America it kept a modest presence in the records for generations, then found its moment: from the 1980s onward Zoe climbed quickly, and its strongest run has come in the last few decades, buoyed by the modern taste for short, vowel-bright girls' names. A three-letter word that simply means life: few names carry so much meaning in so little space.
How popular is Zoe around the world?
In the United States, 31,238 babies were named Zoe between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 691 registrations of Zoe in 2022.
Zoe is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Argentina, South Australia, Montevideo, Ireland, Chile, Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, Austria, New South Wales, Spain, England and Wales, Puerto Rico, Norway, Poland, Brazil and France.
Zoe crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 700
In the United States, 31,238 babies were named Zoe between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Zoe peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 170
In Mexico City, there were 691 registrations of Zoe in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (20 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 190
In Argentina, 3,453 newborns were given the name Zoe in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
South Australia
1 in 3002017
In South Australia, 62 girls were registered as Zoe in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Montevideo City
1 in 3302011
In Montevideo, 74 girls named Zoe were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Ireland
1 in 530
In Ireland, 102 girls named Zoe were born in 2025, the 46th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Zoe, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Chile
1 in 540
In Chile, 327 girls were registered as Zoe in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Canada
1 in 580
In Canada, 620 girls named Zoe were born in 2024, the 21st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New Zealand
1 in 840
In New Zealand, 69 girls named Zoe were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Zoe, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
1 in 850
In Scotland, 54 girls named Zoe were registered in 2024, the 76th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Austria
1 in 930
In Austria, 81 girls named Zoe were born in 2025, the 89th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
New South Wales
#19 · 2025
In New South Wales, 226 girls named Zoe were registered in 2025, ranked 19th in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Spain
#38 · 2024
In Spain, 12,238 residents are named Zoe, the 254th most common name among women, with a mean age of 9.7 years.
In Spain, Zoe was the 38th most common name among girls born in 2024.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
England and Wales
1 in 1,300
In England and Wales, 445 girls named Zoe were born in 2025, the 104th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,500
In Puerto Rico, 12 babies were named Zoe in 2025, and 432 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Norway
1 in 2,200register 2026
In Norway, 12 girls were given the name Zoe in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Poland
1 in 6,200
In Poland, 40 girls named Zoe were born in 2025, the 193rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Zoe, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Brazil
1 in 29,000
At the 2022 census, 6,823 people in Brazil were named Zoe, ranked 2,204th, with a median age of 1.
Among people named Zoe living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 5,359 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
France
1 in 32,000
In France, about 20 girls named Zoe were born in 2025, ranked 1,567th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Zoe, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
When you meet Zoe
Most people given the name Zoe 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.
Where Zoe travels
Global crossover · popular across the US, France and the Netherlands, and simply Zoí in Greece itself
Keep exploring
Names like Zoe · Names that go with Zoe · Greek baby names · Global crossover names · Short names · Nickname-proof names
The Zoe deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Zoe 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 Zoe fits with your family’s names and surname.
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