Zoya
Zoya was the 1002nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 252 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 792nd with 358 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 369 places. More babies were named Zoya in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning life (Russian form of Zoe) · Russian, Greek
Say it ZOY-uh /ˈzɔɪə/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,002 girls, down 81 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 252girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2022358 babies
- Total since 1880
- 4,885babies recorded
What does the name Zoya mean?
Zoya (Russian Zoya, Зоя) is the Russian and Slavic form of Zoe, from Greek zōē 'life'. Early Christians used Zoe as a name with the sense of eternal life, and it was popular in Byzantium; the Russian form became familiar through the Soviet partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. In South Asian Muslim families Zoya is also used, and may be understood differently, but we found no documented separate etymology for that use.
ζωή (zōē) (Ancient Greek, “life”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Zoe, Zoey, Zoja.
See also: Greek names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Зоя', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Zoe', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Zoya popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,002 | 252 |
| 2020 | #921 | 282 |
| 2010 | #1,520 | 148 |
| 2000 | #2,544 | 60 |
| 1990 | #4,693 | 21 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Zoya, counting every spelling?
Zoya is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #958 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,002 for Zoya on its own. Together these spellings went to 252 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoya | 252 | #1,002 | 1,454 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Zoya?
252 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Zoya (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Zoya born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 33 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Zoya.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Zoya?
About 4,800 people born in the US named Zoya are alive today, with a median age of 10; half are between 5 and 16. That makes Zoya a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Zoya by state
How common Zoya was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Virginia (2.5×), New York (2.3×), Washington (2.3×), Maryland (2.2×), New Jersey (1.8×). In 26 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Zoya: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Zoya, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Zoya · Sibling names for Zoya
Questions about the name Zoya
What does Zoya mean?
Zoya means “life (Russian form of Zoe)” (Russian, Greek origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Zoya?
Zoya was the 1002nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 252 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 792nd with 358 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 369 places. More babies were named Zoya in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Zoya a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Zoya in the US.
Where is Zoya most popular?
In 2021–2025, Zoya was most common in Virginia (0.46 per 1,000 girls), followed by New York and Washington.