🔥Zoe

zoh-ee
Greek
"life"

Zoe Origin and Meaning

The name Zoe is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "life".

Zoe is one of those surprising names that has been on the Top 1000 nearly every year since 1880, but it's only since the turn of this century that it's ranked in the Top 100.

Despite its popularity in several spellings -- Zoey ranks nearly as highly -- Zoe still manages to sound distinctive. Credit the initial Z, the sleek simplicity, the not-silent final e, and the name's compelling. meaning: life.

The history of Zoe begins in the third century when the Alexandrian Jews translated Eve, which means 'life,' to the Greek equivalent Zoe. Zoe was in use as far back as the Roman classical period, and was popular with the early Christians, who bestowed it with hopes of eternal life, but it didn't migrate to the English-speaking world until the mid-nineteenth century.

Zoe Washbourne was a strong warrior in the sci-fi show Firefly, Zoe Hart the leading female character on Hart of Dixie, Zoe Barnes a journalist on House of Cards, and kids might recognize Zoe from Sesame Street.

Zoe is currently hot around the world, popular in countries from Scotland to Spain, France to New Zealand.

Zoe has spawned a number of variant spellings, including Zoey, Zoie, and Zooey. Zoey has been embraced by TV scripters--she has been seen on the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101, The West Wing and How I Met Your Mother. Zoie ranked in the Top 1000 for 20 years but has just dropped out.

Wide-eyed actress Zooey Deschanel, whose first name is pronounced the same as Zoe, was named after Zooey Glass, the male protagonist of the J. D. Salinger novella Franny and Zooey.

# 37 in the US

Zoe Rank in US Top 1000

# 117 on Nameberry

Zoe Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Zoe Popularity

Famous People Named Zoe

  • Saint Zoe of Rome
    martyred noblewoman
  • Zoe Porphyrogenita
    Byzantine empress
  • Zoë Saldana
    Peregro, American actress
  • Zoë Isabella Kravitz
    American actress and musician; daughter of actors Lisa Bonet and singer Lenny Kravitz
  • Zoé Victoire Talon
    comtesse du Cayla, mistress of Louis XVIII of France
  • Zoe Swicord Kazan
    American actress
  • Zoë Wanamaker
    American,British actress; daughter of actor Sam Wanamaker
  • Zoë Kate Hinde Heller
    English journalist and novelist
  • Zoe Lister
    Jones, American actress and singer
  • Zoe Rowlands Cassavetes
    American film director; daughter of director John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands
  • Zoé Valdés
    Cuban writer
  • Zoë (Pollock)
    British singer
  • Zoe Buckman
    Australian Olympic runner
  • Zoe Elizabeth Sugg
    British Youtuber
  • Zoe Wiseman
    American model
  • Zoë E. Bell
    New Zealand actress and stuntwoman
  • Zoe Tapper
    English actress
  • Zoë Tamerlis Lund
    American musician, model, and actress
  • Zoe Yin
    American painter and novelist
  • Zoe Strauss
    American photographer
  • Zoe Newman
    Canadian actress
  • Zoë Johnston
    British singer,songwriter
  • Zoë Byrd Akins
    American playwright, poet, and author
  • Zoë Tyler
    English singer and reality TV show judge
  • Zoe Levin
    American actress
  • Zoë Elizabeth Sugg
    British beauty vlogger known as "Zoella"
  • Rachel Zoe
    American designer
  • Zoe Jackson (b. 1982)
    daughter of actor Samuel L. Jackson
  • Zoe Perry (b. 1984)
    daughter of actors Jeff Perry and Laurie Metcalf
  • Zoe Bearse (adopted 1993)
    daughter of actress Amanda Bearse
  • Zoe Edelman (b. 1995)
    daughter of actors Gregg Edelman and Carolee Carmello
  • Zoe Blue Sidel (b. 1995)
    daughter of actress Rosanna Arquette and John Sidel
  • Zoe Harrelson (b. 1996)
    daughter of actor Woody Harrelson
  • Zoe Glaser (b. 1997)
    daughter of actor Paul Michael Glaser
  • Zoe Madeline Donovan (b. 2001)
    daughter of actress Audra McDonald and Peter Donovan
  • Zoe Petit (b. 2001)
    daughter of footballer Emmanuel Petit and actress Agathe de La Fontaine
  • Zoe Jane Lewis (b. 2003)
    daughter of singer Aaron Lewis of Staind
  • Zoë Chinook Bogue (b. 2004)
    daughter of actor Robert Bogue
  • Zoe Larsen (b. 2007)
    daughter of singer Blaine Larsen
  • Zoe Grace Quaid (b. 2007)
    daughter of American actor Dennis Quaid
  • Zoe Søgaard (adopted 2012)
    daughter of singer Carola Häggkvist and Runar Søgaard
  • Zoe Rae Spearman (b. 2013)
    daughter of World Cup winner Shannon Boxx
  • Zoe Mahan (b. 2013)
    daughter of golfer Hunter Mahan and dancer Kandi Harris
  • Zoe Leano Mabalane (b. 2015)
    daughter of singer Kabelo Mabalane and actress Gail Nkoane
  • Zoë Madison Zegers (b. 2015)
    daughter of actor Kevin Zegers
  • Zoë Dylan Nicholas (b. 2016)
    daughter of actor Thomas Ian Nicholas and DJ Colette

Zoe in Pop Culture

  • Zoe Carter
    character on TV's "Eureka"
  • Zoe Washburne
    character on TV's "Firefly"
  • Zoe Murphy
    character on Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.
  • Dr. Zoe Hart
    main character on TV's 'Hart of Dixie'
  • Zoe Nightshade
    character in the series "Percy Jackson and the Olympians"
  • Zoe MacPherson
    oldest child in newspaper comic strip Baby Blues
  • Zoe Slater
    character on British soap "Eastenders"
  • Zoe Heriot
    companion on TV's "Doctor Who"
  • Zoe Graystone
    character on TV's "Caprica"
  • Zoe Benson
    character on TV's "American Horror Story Coven"
  • Zoe
    autumn fairy in video game "Spyro the Dragon"
  • Dr. Zoe Hanna
    character on British TV's "Casualty"
  • Zoe Bean
    character on TV's "Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane"
  • Zoe Richardson
    character on American soap "General Hospital"
  • Zoe Love
    Edward Travilla Jr.'s wife in Elsie Dinsmore series
  • Zoe Davis
    character on Australian soap "Neighbours"
  • "Zoe Jane"
    song by STAIND
  • Zoe Barnes
    character on TV's "House of Cards"
  • Zoe Rivas
    character on TV's "Degrassi"
  • Zoe Trent
    character in Littlest Pet Shop (2012)
  • Zoe
    Muppet on TV's "Sesame Street"
  • Zoe Pound
    Florida street gang
  • Zoe Girl
    Christian musical group
  • Zoë Castillo
    main character in video game "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" and "Dreamfall Chapters"
  • Zoe Monroe
    character in The CW's "The 100"
  • Zoe Vaughn
    character on MTV's "Scream"
  • Zoe
    character in "Hidden"
  • Zoe Belmont
    Character in the Castlevania series
  • Zoe Madra
    a character in the Greek television series "Deligianneion Parthenagogion"