Zoey
Meaning
"life," the Greek word Hellenistic Jews used to render Eve; Zoey is the phonetic American spelling of Zoe, no diacritics needed, and since the 2000s the more popular of the two in the US. Ancient meaning, thoroughly modern dress
The story
Zoey means life, no more and no less: it is the Greek zoe, the very word Hellenistic Jews chose when they rendered Eve, mother of the living, into their own language. Zoey is the phonetic American spelling of Zoe, no dots or accents required, and since the 2000s it has been the more popular of the two in the United States. Its rise is entirely modern: a first flicker in the 1990s, steady growth through the 2000s, the very years a Nickelodeon series put the name in front of millions of children, and a peak in the 2010s. The timing of that television boost is hard to ignore, though the name's bright z and easy two syllables were always going to travel well. It has eased only slightly in the 2020s: an ancient meaning in thoroughly modern dress.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Zoey peaked in the 2010s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
168 people · the #28,767 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 1
Among people named Zoey living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 142 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Zoey
Most people given the name Zoey 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 Zoey deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Zoey 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 Zoey fits with your family’s names and surname.
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