Zoe

Revision History

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10/6/2024, 9:08 PM Mike C update #116
6/9/2023, 2:32 PM Mike C update #114
4/5/2022, 10:13 PM Mike C update #112
1/21/2022, 9:40 PM Mike C update #111
11/20/2020, 10:42 PM Mike C update #109
5/29/2020, 9:30 PM Mike C update #108
6/13/2019, 12:17 AM Mike C update #104
2/28/2019, 2:08 PM Mike C update #102
5/31/2018, 2:36 PM Mike C update #99
12/8/2017, 12:41 PM Mike C update #97
8/16/2017, 11:57 PM Mike C update #96
10/10/2012, 5:50 PM Mike C update #84
2/12/2007, 1:03 AM Mike C earliest recorded revision

Gender Feminine
Usage English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek [1]
Scripts Ζώη, Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced Pron. /ˈzoʊ.i/(English) /ˈd͡zɔ.e/(Italian) /ˈθo.e/(European Spanish) /ˈso.e/(Latin American Spanish)

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).