Zoee
Life, being personified from the Greek word "zoe".
Name Census estimates that about 2,077 living Americans carry the first name Zoee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zoee today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zoee births was 2012 (116 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zoee. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Zoee is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 165,024 Americans
Peak year
2012
116 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,281
Tracked since 1991
Census
Zoee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,680 people with the first name Zoee, which placed it at #8,602 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#8,602
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,680 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zoee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoee is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.8%) and Black (11.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Zoee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Zoee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.2% · 1,045
- Hispanic or Latino15.8% · 266
- Black or African American11.5% · 194
- Two or more races7.6% · 128
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 23
Popularity
Zoee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zoee from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 889 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zoee by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Zoee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zoees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Zoee, while Virginia, Iowa, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zoee
The name Zoee has its origins in the Greek language and culture. It is believed to have emerged during the ancient Greek era, which spanned from the 8th century BC to the 6th century AD. The name is a variant spelling of the Greek name Zoe, which is derived from the Greek word "zoe," meaning "life."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zoe can be found in ancient Greek literature, particularly in the works of the renowned philosopher Plato. In his dialogues, Plato introduced a character named Zoe, whose name symbolized the concept of life and the pursuit of knowledge.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zoee or its variants. In the 4th century AD, Zoe Kathismata was a Byzantine empress consort who ruled alongside her husband, Emperor Leo VI. Her influence and political acumen were instrumental in shaping the Byzantine Empire during her reign.
Another prominent figure was Zoe Porphyrogenita, a Byzantine empress who reigned from 1028 to 1050. She was known for her intelligence, beauty, and political savvy, and her reign marked a period of relative stability in the Byzantine Empire.
In the literary realm, Zoe Akins was an American playwright and novelist who lived from 1886 to 1958. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1935 for her play "The Old Maid." Akins was celebrated for her insightful portrayals of human relationships and the complexities of family dynamics.
Zoee Maguire was an Australian actress and singer who graced the stage and screen in the early 20th century. Born in 1876, she achieved fame for her performances in numerous stage productions and early silent films, cementing her place as a pioneering figure in Australian entertainment.
In the field of music, Zoe Rahman is a contemporary British jazz pianist and composer. Born in 1976, she has received critical acclaim for her unique blend of traditional jazz influences and contemporary styles, earning numerous awards and accolades throughout her career.
These examples demonstrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Zoee, which has been borne by individuals from various backgrounds and eras, each leaving their mark on their respective fields and societies.
People
Zoee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zoee as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zoee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zoee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,077 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zoee going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 165,024 US residents.
Is Zoee a common name?
We classify Zoee as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,103 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zoee most popular?
The single biggest year for Zoee was 2012, when 116 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zoee is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zoee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,680 people with the name Zoee, or 0.56 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,602 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Zoee in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Zoee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zoee appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,679 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Zoee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoee is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.8%) and Black (11.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Zoee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zoee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.2% (1,045 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Zoee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zoee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zoee in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Zoee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zoee in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Zoee can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Zoee?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Zoee at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.