girls' name ★ peaked 2012

Zoe

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #31 Trend ↑ Rising 14%

A female given name from Ancient Greek, of common usage, variant of Zoë.

Rank 2025
#31
among girls · ↓2 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
5,659
named Zoe · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 285
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2012
6,483 babies
All-time total
163,853
#243 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Zoe popularity over time

163,853 babies have been named Zoe since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 281 – 281 28 – #341
1890s 323 – 323 32 +15% #396
1900s 239 – 239 24 -26% #570
1910s 466 – 466 47 +95% #736
1920s 694 – 694 69 +49% #774
1930s 735 – 735 74 +6% #714
1940s 569 – 569 57 -23% #957
1950s 1,109 – 1,109 111 +95% #828
1960s 952 – 952 95 -14% #939
1970s 1,120 18 1,138 114 +20% #965
1980s 1,999 34 2,033 203 +79% #581
1990s 16,791 128 16,919 1,692 +732% #104
2000s 48,755 153 48,908 4,891 +189% #47
2010s 58,094 155 58,249 5,825 +19% #30
2020s (to 2025) 31,129 109 31,238 5,206 -11% #29

Where Zoe is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 5,772 3.59 #30
2027 5,881 3.66 #29
2028 5,976 3.72 #29
2029 6,058 3.77 #28
2030 6,128 3.81 #27

Where Zoe is most popular

Girls named Zoe per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 3.25 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Zoe born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
District of Columbia 162 13.7 +321%
Vermont 41 8.46 +161%
Rhode Island 100 7.99 +146%
Maryland 746 7.04 +117%
Massachusetts 768 6.35 +96%
Connecticut 367 6.31 +94%
New Jersey 1,128 6.25 +93%
Delaware 69 6.08 +87%
New York 2,116 5.34 +65%
Hawaii 59 5.15 +59%
Virginia 823 4.83 +49%
Nevada 218 4.69 +45%
California 3,907 4.65 +43%
Colorado 514 4.60 +42%
Maine 70 4.53 +39%
Texas 3,358 4.18 +29%
Washington 603 4.17 +29%
Florida 1,777 4.15 +28%
North Carolina 941 4.13 +27%
Oregon 253 3.89 +20%
Illinois 887 3.87 +19%
New Hampshire 71 3.85 +18%
Alaska 33 3.83 +18%
Wyoming 16 3.75 +16%
New Mexico 90 3.70 +14%
Georgia 829 3.65 +12%
Louisiana 316 3.61 +11%
Nebraska 128 3.56 +10%
Utah 291 3.50 +8%
South Carolina 309 3.44 +6%
Tennessee 529 3.34 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 757 3.20 ≈ national
Arizona 443 3.16 ≈ national
Idaho 105 3.14 ≈ national
Montana 42 3.10 ≈ national
Kansas 174 3.02 -7%
Indiana 408 2.91 -10%
Oklahoma 208 2.83 -13%
Wisconsin 285 2.77 -15%
Minnesota 283 2.62 -19%
Alabama 243 2.59 -20%
Arkansas 135 2.55 -21%
Kentucky 216 2.53 -22%
Michigan 414 2.27 -30%
Ohio 520 2.19 -32%
South Dakota 30 2.10 -35%
Missouri 249 2.07 -36%
Iowa 120 2.05 -37%
West Virginia 46 1.76 -46%
North Dakota 23 1.75 -46%
Mississippi 75 1.60 -51%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Zoe

Zoe is a top-50 name for girls in the United States, ranked #31 in 2025 with 5,646 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 163,853 American babies have been named Zoe. Its peak came in 2012, when 6,483 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Zoe stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Zoe?

The median living Zoe is about 14 years old; half are between 7 and 22. An estimated 160 thousand people named Zoe are alive in the United States today.

median 14 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Zoe year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 5,646 #31 13 #6,802
2024 5,733 #29 25 #4,320
2023 5,190 #36 12 #7,287
2022 5,022 #38 23 #4,569
2021 4,739 #42 20 #4,934
2020 4,799 #40 16 #5,697
2019 5,071 #38 13 #6,771
2018 5,124 #40 14 #6,342
2017 5,173 #41 11 #7,543
2016 5,764 #35 15 #6,051
2015 6,051 #33 16 #5,744
2014 5,884 #32 21 #4,701
2013 5,978 #31 15 #5,921
2012 6,466 #30 17 #5,481
2011 6,309 #31 14 #6,254
2010 6,274 #31 19 #5,045
2009 5,152 #47 12 #7,233
2008 4,781 #58 15 #6,068
2007 4,937 #56 11 #7,585
2006 5,153 #54 15 #5,780
2005 4,965 #58 17 #5,033
2004 5,363 #54 26 #3,635
2003 5,087 #57 15 #5,270
2002 4,887 #60 16 #4,917
2001 4,645 #65 16 #4,889
2000 3,785 #82 10 #6,836
1995 1,726 #176 20 #3,431
1990 478 #503 9 #5,820
1985 196 #832 – –
1980 103 #1,267 5 #7,293
1975 125 #989 – –
1970 132 #965 7 #4,229
1965 76 #1,239 – –
1960 118 #992 – –
1955 118 #905 – –
1950 67 #1,134 – –
1945 45 #1,186 – –
1940 54 #978 – –
1935 89 #714 – –
1930 54 #1,013 – –
1925 73 #873 – –
1920 80 #816 – –
1915 57 #873 – –
1910 34 #736 – –
1905 24 #759 – –
1900 26 #724 – –
1895 34 #512 – –
1890 42 #396 – –
1885 27 #404 – –
1880 23 #341 – –

Famous people named Zoe

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Zoe Kazan Zoe Kazan American actress (born 1983) Contemporary
  2. 2 Zoe Saldana Zoe Saldana American actress (born 1978) Contemporary
  3. 3 Zoe Karbonopsina Zoe Karbonopsina Byzantine empress from 906 to 912 900–1000 · Medieval
  4. 4 Zoe Zaoutzaina 9th-century Byzantine empress 801–899 · Medieval

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Zoe, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Zoe?

The median living Zoe is about 14 years old. Half of all living Zoes are between 7 and 22 years old.

How many people named Zoe are alive today?

An estimated 160 thousand people named Zoe are alive in the United States, based on 163,853 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Zoe mean?

A female given name from Ancient Greek, of common usage, variant of Zoë.

How popular is the name Zoe in 2025?

Zoe ranked #31 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 5,646 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Zoe?

163,853 babies have been named Zoe in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Zoe most popular?

Zoe peaked in 2012, when 6,483 newborns received the name.

Is Zoe a boy or girl name?

Zoe is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Zoe rising or falling?

Zoe has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Zoe become more popular?

Zoe is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 6,128 girls named Zoe in 2030, which would rank around #27. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Zoe?

Well-known people named Zoe include Zoe Kazan (actor), Zoe Saldana (actor), Zoe Karbonopsina (politician).

Names like Zoe

Names that sound and feel close to Zoe: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Zoe with similar names → More names starting with Z →