The zippiest, zestiest first initial for baby names around must be Z. Zoe and Zachary are the top baby names starting with Z in the US. Along with all the versions of Zoe and Zachary, names beginning with Z on the US Top 1000 include Zion, Zayden, Zane, Zara, Zuri, Zander, and Zaylee. Unique cool names starting with Z range from Zelig to Zelda. 
 
Zara, the name of one of the Queen's granddaughters, is the top-ranked Z name in England, while Zelie makes the Top 100 in France. And names starting with Z are among the hottest on Nameberry, rising more than 100% year over year.
 
Z as an initial is so intrinsically cool it may be that there are no baby names starting with Z that aren't cool. Here are some of the best Z-starting names for baby boys and baby girls.

Cool Baby Names That Start With Z

When the Eddie Murphys named their fourth daughter Zola, it affirmed the up-and-coming status of the name, which has African roots, but also literary links to Emile Zola. 

Zola

A cute, zippy French saint's name that's picking up in popularity there, and starting to in the US as well. Zélie originated as a short form of Azélie, thought to derive from Adelaide via the Occitan form Azalaïs. Saint Zélie was born Marie-Azélie.

Zelie

Cool biblical name that could get you to the nicknames Zac or Cai.

Zaccai

Short and to-the-point, it turns an ancient biblical name into a friendly cowboy. 

A popular name in the Middle East and one of the most evocative choices of its genre.   One of the 99 names of Allah.  The feminine form is Zahira.

Zahir

Newer than Zac, cooler than Ed, Ned, or Ted.

Abbreviated form of Zahara that was used by Chris Rock for his daughter and as a middle name by both Eddie Murphy and David Bowie.   Compared with the even-more-abbreviated Zara, Zahra may create more spelling problems but clarify pronunciation.

Zahra

The sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, popularized by Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones -- Zeta was her grandmother's first name.  Zeta can also refer to the letter Z, the last in the Roman alphabet, or be a spelling variation of Zita, a name with several possible origins and meanings.

Zeta

This unusual and alluring choice was used by David Mamet for his daughter, who is now grown and an actress on the hit show Girls.

Zosia

Although this Old Testament name is soft and delicate, it runs the risk of conjuring up the monstrous Godzilla. 

Zilla

A Middle Eastern name rarely heard here, but with a certain swashbuckling charm. 

Zahavi

A thirteenth-century Tuscan saint, patron of homemakers, Zita is the kind of name that sounded really creative in an earlier era. 

Zita

Zafira

Zealand is the English translation of the Dutch province name Zeeland (originally Seelant). It's more commonly associated with New Zealand, the Oceanic country named by the Dutch. As a baby name, Zealand entered the popularity charts for boys in 2000, but has never been given to more than 40 babies in a single year. It is used for girls as well, but with less frequency.
 
Zealand is one of our favorite <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/210/Place-Names-Off-The-Map">place names for babies</a> and is among the coolest options of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/393/Cool-Baby-Names-That-Start-With-Z">names starting with Z</a>.

Zealand

More commonly known as the Mongolian Gazelle.

Zeren would probably read as a creative spin on Seren.

Zeren

Biblical names are expanding (literally) as some parents move from Isaiah and Elijah to more elaborate choices with simple short forms, like Jedidiah and Zebediah.
 Zebediah, or Zebadiah, is the New Testament father of apostles John and James, and there are a number of Zebadiahs in the Old Testament as well.

Zebediah

Zevi is an alternative transcription of the Hebrew name Zvi or Tzvi, the latter of which is a Top 100 pick in Israel. It's a cool, sharp-sounding name which would make for a great distinctive alternative to Levi. 

 A famous historical bearer is Shabbetai Zevi, an Ottoman rabbi who gained a following in the 17th century.

Zevi

Zuriel

Zariyah has several possible origins: the Arabic Zahrah which means "flower" or Zariya "scattering wind"; the Hebrew name Azariah, meaning "God has helped"; or the Russian word Zaria which means "sunrise, dawn."

Zariyah

Zaynab, from the Arabic word for beauty and the name of a flowering tree, was the name of a granddaughter, daughter and two wives of the Prophet Muhammed.  Related names include the simplified forms Zaina and Zayna and the Swahili-inflected Zainabu, along with possibly Zenobia, a name related to the Greek mythological god Zeus. Zaynab is one of the most popular Muslim girls' names around the world.

Zaynab

Cool Baby Names That Start with Z - child sleeping