Zion

Zion has taken off in recent years, particularly after singer Lauryn Hill used it for her son back in 1997 and incorporated the name into a hit song. It combines a user-friendly Ryan-Brian sound with the gravitas of religious significance and has that cool, on-trend Z initial. The Hebrew pronunciation is 'tzeeyon', though among English speakers, it will likely be said as ZY-on.

In the Old Testament, the name Zion frequently refers to the city of Jerusalem as a whole, and came to be symbolic of Jewish national aspirations, and thus was the source of the term Zionism. As such, it could be considered a controversial choice, depending on your beliefs.

Nevertheless, with its cool, crisp sounds, Zion is popular in the UK, New Zealand, The Netherlands, and the US, where it ranked in the Top 200 in 2024. This was, however, a notable drop from its 2023 ranking, when it was given to 2900 boys and 130 girls.

In 2024 by contrast, around 2360 boys and 100 girls received the name in the US, 20% fewer babies than the year before. Time will tell if this drop signifies a downward trend or if parents were influenced by the events and conflicts of the year.

Pronounced ZY-on.

As of October 2026, Zion ranked #142 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #125 in 2023, Nameberry popularity #230.