Zelda 2fEnglish Short form of Griselda. This is the name of a princess in the Legend of Zelda video games, debuting in 1986 and called ゼルダ (Zeruda) in Japanese. According to creator Shigeru Miyamoto she was named after the American socialite Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948).
ZeligmYiddish Means "blessed, happy" in Yiddish, a vernacular form of Asher.
ZelimkhanmChechen Combination of the name Salim and the Turkic title khan meaning "ruler, leader".
ZenafEnglish Meaning unknown. It could be a variant of Xenia or a diminutive of names featuring this sound, such as Alexina, Rosina or Zenobia. This name has occasionally been used since the 19th century.
ZenomAncient Greek (Latinized), Italian From the Greek name Ζήνων (Zenon), which was derived from the name of the Greek god Zeus (the poetic form of his name being Ζήν). Zeno was the name of two famous Greek philosophers: Zeno of Elea and Zeno of Citium, the founder of the Stoic school in Athens.
ZenobiafAncient Greek Means "life of Zeus", derived from Greek Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of Zeus" and βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.
ZerahmBiblical Means "dawning, shining" in Hebrew. This is the name of a son of Judah and the twin of Perez in the Old Testament.
ZeruiahfBiblical From Hebrew צֳרִי (tsori) meaning "balm, salve". In the Old Testament this name belongs to the sister of King David and the mother of Abishai, Joab and Asahel.
ZeusmGreek Mythology The name of a Greek god, related to the old Indo-European god *Dyēws, from the root *dyew- meaning "sky" or "shine". In Greek mythology he was the highest of the gods. After he and his siblings defeated the Titans, Zeus ruled over the earth and humankind from atop Mount Olympus. He had control over the weather and his weapon was a thunderbolt.... [more]
Zhenf & mChinese From Chinese 珍 (zhēn) meaning "precious, rare", 真 (zhēn) meaning "real, genuine", 贞 (zhēn) meaning "virtuous, chaste, loyal", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.
Zhengm & fChinese From Chinese 正 (zhèng) meaning "right, proper, correct" or 政 (zhèng) meaning "government", as well as other hanja characters with a similar pronunciation.
Zhim & fChinese From Chinese 志 (zhì) meaning "will, purpose, ambition" or 智 (zhì) meaning "wisdom, intellect", as well as other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Zhongm & fChinese From Chinese 中 (zhōng) meaning "middle" or 忠 (zhōng) meaning "loyalty, devotion". Other characters can form this name as well.
Zhoum & fChinese From Chinese 舟 (zhōu) meaning "boat, ship", in addition to other characters that are pronounced similarly.
ZiamArabic, Urdu, Bengali Alternate transcription of Arabic ضياء (see Ziya), as well as the usual Urdu and Bengali transcription.
Zivm & fHebrew Means "bright, radiant" in Hebrew. This was the ancient name of the second month of the Jewish calendar.
ŽivafSlavic Mythology, Slovene, Serbian From the Old Slavic word živŭ meaning "alive, living". According to the 12th-century Saxon priest Helmold, this was the name of a Slavic goddess possibly associated with life or fertility.
ZiyamArabic, Turkish Means "splendour, light, glow" in Arabic. This was the name of a 14th-century Islamic Indian historian.
ZiyadmArabic Means "growth, increase, excess" in Arabic, a derivative of زاد (zāda) meaning "to grow, to increase".
ZoefEnglish, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek 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.... [more]
ZoilusmAncient Greek (Latinized) Latinized form of Greek Ζωΐλος (Zoilos), derived from ζωή (zoe) meaning "life". This name was borne by a 4th-century BC Greek philosopher known as a critic of Homer, and also by two Indo-Greek kings. Saint Zoilus was martyred at Córdoba, Spain during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century.
Zola 1fEnglish Meaning 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).
Zola 2f & mXhosa From the Xhosa root -zola meaning "calm".
ZoltánmHungarian, Slovak Possibly related to the Turkish title sultan meaning "king, sultan". This was the name of a 10th-century ruler of Hungary, also known as Zsolt.
ZonafVarious Means "girdle, belt" in Greek. This name was made popular by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet Zona Gale (1874-1938).
Zula 2fEnglish Meaning 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.
ZuleikafLiterature Meaning uncertain, possibly of Arabic origin. According to medieval tradition, notably related by the 15th-century Persian poet Jami, this was the name of the biblical Potiphar's wife. She has been a frequent subject of poems and tales.
ZulfiqarmArabic, Urdu From Arabic ذو الفقار (Dhū al-Faqār) interpreted as meaning "cleaver of the spine", derived from ذو (dhū) meaning "possessor, holder" and فقار (faqār) meaning "spine, vertebra". This was the name of the Prophet Muhammad's sword, also used by his son-in-law Ali.
ZurielmBiblical Means "my rock is God" in Hebrew, derived from צוּר (tsur) meaning "rock" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament this name is borne by a chief of the Merarite Levites at the time of the Exodus.