ZIV m & f HebrewMeans "bright, radiant" in Hebrew. This was the ancient name of the second month of the Jewish calendar.
ŽIVA f Slavic Mythology, SloveneMeans "living, alive" in Slavic. This was the name of a Slavic goddess associated with life, fertility and spring.
ZOE f English, Italian, Ancient GreekMeans "life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of
EVE. It was borne by two early Christian saints, one martyred under emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century. As an English name,
Zoe has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).
ZOLA (1) f EnglishMeaning unknown, perhaps an invented name. It has been in occasional use in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. It coincides with an Italian surname, a famous bearer being the French-Italian author Émile Zola (1840-1902).
ZONA f VariousMeans "girdle, belt" in Greek. This name was made popular by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet Zona Gale.
ZORAIDA f SpanishPerhaps means "enchanting" or "dawn" in Arabic. This was the name of a minor 12th-century Spanish saint, a convert from Islam. The name was used by Cervantes for a character in his novel 'Don Quixote' (1606), in which Zoraida is a beautiful Moorish woman of Algiers who converts to Christianity and elopes with a Spanish officer.
ZRINKA f CroatianPossibly from
Zrin, the name of a village in Croatia, or from the noble Zrinski family which originated there.
ZULA (2) f EnglishMeaning unknown. It has been in use since the 19th century. It is possibly related to the name of the African tribe that lives largely in South Africa, the Zulus. In the 19th century the Zulus were a powerful nation under their leader Shaka.
ZULEIKA f LiteraturePossibly means "brilliant beauty" in Persian. According to medieval legends this was the name of Potiphar's wife in the Bible. She has been a frequent subject of poems and tales.