Gender Feminine
Scripts Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced Pron. ZO-ee(English) DZAW-eh(Italian)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

Means "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 (sometimes with a diaeresis as Zoë) has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).

Related Names

VariantsZoey, Zoie, Zoë, Zowie(English)
Other Languages & CulturesZoya(Belarusian) Zoya(Bulgarian) Zoè(Catalan) Zoja(Croatian) Zoë(Dutch) Zoé(French) Zoi(Greek) Zoé(Hungarian) Zoja(Latvian) Zoja(Lithuanian) Zoja(Macedonian) Zoya(Russian) Zoja(Serbian) Zoja(Slovene) Zoya(Ukrainian)
Same SpellingZoé, Zoè, Zoë

People think this name is

youthful   informal   natural   wholesome   strong   refined   strange   simple  

Name Days

Czechia: October 27
Greece: April 21
Spain: May 2

Images

Byzantine empress Zoe, from a mosaic in Hagia SophiaByzantine empress Zoe, from a mosaic in Hagia Sophia

Categories

Entry updated June 9, 2023