Zoei
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "life".
Name Census estimates that about 963 living Americans carry the first name Zoei. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zoei today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zoei births was 2014 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zoei. 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.
People living today
963
~ 1 in 355,924 Americans
Peak year
2014
61 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,418
Tracked since 1996
Census
Zoei in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 657 people with the first name Zoei, which placed it at #16,975 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
#16,975
National first-name rank
People counted
657
657 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zoei
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoei is White at 44.6%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Hispanic (11.6%). 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 Zoei 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 Zoei at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.6% · 293
- Black or African American34.2% · 225
- Hispanic or Latino11.6% · 76
- Two or more races6.4% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 8
Popularity
Zoei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zoei 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 499 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zoei remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zoei 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 Zoei during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zoeis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Zoei, while Maryland, Michigan, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zoei
The name Zoei is believed to have originated from the Greek language, with its roots tracing back to ancient times. It is thought to be a variant or diminutive form of the name Zoe, which means "life" in Greek. This name was popular in ancient Greece and was often associated with the goddess Aphrodite, who represented love, beauty, and fertility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zoei can be found in the works of ancient Greek writers and philosophers. In Plato's dialogue "Cratylus," the name Zoe is discussed as a representation of the concept of life and the soul. This philosophical connection to life and vitality may have contributed to the name's enduring popularity throughout Greek history.
During the Byzantine era, which lasted from the 4th to the 15th century, the name Zoei gained prominence within the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. It was often used as a name for female saints and martyrs, reflecting the name's association with life and spirituality.
In the 9th century, there was a notable figure named Zoei Karbonopsina, who was a Byzantine empress and the wife of Leo VI the Wise. Her influence and prominence during this period likely contributed to the name's continued use and recognition.
Moving forward in history, the name Zoei has also been recorded in various literary works and historical accounts. One notable example is Zoei Porphyrogenita, a Byzantine princess and writer who lived in the 11th century and authored several notable works on theology and philosophy.
In more recent times, the name Zoei has been carried by several accomplished individuals. Zoei Lamma was a Greek actress and singer who gained popularity in the 20th century, born in 1923 and passing away in 2005. Another notable figure was Zoei Kasdagli, a Greek poet and writer who was born in 1936 and made significant contributions to modern Greek literature.
While the name Zoei has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has transcended time and geographic boundaries, gaining popularity in various parts of the world. Throughout its rich history, the name has been associated with concepts of life, vitality, and spiritual enlightenment, making it a timeless and meaningful choice for many parents.
People
Zoei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zoei 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
Zoei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zoei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 963 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zoei 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 355,924 US residents.
Is Zoei a common name?
We classify Zoei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 973 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zoei most popular?
The single biggest year for Zoei was 2014, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zoei is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zoei in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 657 people with the name Zoei, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,975 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 Zoei 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 Zoei?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zoei appears almost entirely female. Of the 657 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Zoei?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zoei is White at 44.6%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Hispanic (11.6%). 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 Zoei most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zoei in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.6% (293 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 Zoei in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zoei a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zoei 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 Zoei still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zoei 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 Zoei 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 many people have the name Zoei?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Zoei, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.