Back in 1996, I met a Mackenzie. I was in my 20s and so was she – at the time we were born, Mackenzie hadn’t cracked the Top 1000 for girls, but there quite a few pint-sized Mackenzies getting themselves born right around then.
Today, Mackenzie is the 53rd most popular name for girls born in the US. But factor in Makenzie, Mackenzi, Mckenzie and a bunch of other sound-the-sames and it leapfrogs up a few places.
When we’re placing bets here at ApMtn, we list Zoe among the names most likely to follow Mackenzie down the path of endless and dreadful spelling variations.
Zoe came in at #54 on the Top 1000 list for 2006, but other versions of the name are gaining. Here’s what we’ve spotted lately:
- Zoey, as in Zoey 101, Jamie Lynn Spear’s TEENick show – until she got TEENpregnant. Zoey ranked #119 in 2006.
- Zoi, the contest most recently voted off reality cooking show Top Chef. At first glance, this one appears to rhyme with Joy, but nope – it’s another variant of Zoe. Zoi was not in the Top 1000.
- Zoie, another curious spelling combo, is the version worn by starlets Zoie Kennedy and Zoie Palmer, and actor Jodie Sweetin’s choice for her newborn daughter. Zoie ranked #552 in 2006.
- Zooey, as in the fabulous Zooey Deschanel. She, in turn, was named after the male protagonist in the JD Salinger pair of stories Franny and Zooey. Zooey is not in the Top 1000 names as of 2006.
- Zowie, as in Zowie Bowie, the incomparable David Bowie’s son. He actually is now a grown man with a career of his own, and is known by much less attention-grabbing name – Duncan Jones. While some sites list Zowie as a feminine variant, it’s not in the Top 1000 in the US.
- Zoee, an inevitable variant but fortunately not a popular one, as it is not in the Top 1000.
- Zoelie, this one doesn’t actually sound like Zoe – it’s properly pronounced zoh ay LEE and is common in French speaking countries, just as you’d expect. It’s not in the Top 1000, and this is one variant that feels surprisingly fresh.
Zoe itself is, of course, a classic and enduring choice worn by Byzantine empresses, starbabies and mere mortals alike. And while Zoey seems a logical variation, and Zoelie a charming foreign twist, most of these creative re-spellings seem awkward – at best.
What a bummer. I adore Zoe. I hate all the silly misspellings of it, particularly Zoey. I do like the name Zoelie, but it’s too fussy for me and my family, at least.
I always said Zooey as ZOO-ee, not Zoe. Zooey Deschanel’s name is so obnoxious looking to me, as I’m guessing it’s supposed to be Zoe. Zooey and Emily, while they’re in their, what, thirties? seem to have ahead-of-the-trend names.
Good to see your blog going again!
I would love to know how one got the boy nickname in Salinger’s story, and one got, noice, normal Emily. (Zooey was a nickname for Zachary in Salinger’s story, Franny was the girl: Frances) Bugs the heck out of me. She’s talented, but her name is really distracting.
It’s a good question. I’ve never read a JD Salinger bio, and when I just searched for one at Amazon there haven’t been many written. I guess he’s such a recluse that it’s tough to get him to talk about anything. But he certainly had a way with naming – Holden, Esme, Zooey.
From what I remember of the stories, the Glass family was a real mess. And they’re one of the inspirations for the Royal Tenenbaums, right? So even if the name Zooey appealed, I can’t see how the *character* would suggest itself as a good role model. Esme, at least, seems like a reasonably interesting character to inspire a child’s name.
I dunno. I’m with Kayt on this one – I love Zoe, and I like Ms. Deschanel, but I agree that the Zooey spelling is just off.
I love Zooey Deschanel and the spelling of her name. It just looks so much better and really suits Ms Deschanel!
I just came across this entry after searching through the archives for “Zoe” – a name I really like but have put in the back pocket as I thought it was too popular for use. As our name conversations continue, I think I’ve just about decided that regardless if a name is popular, I should go with what I like, rather than compromise with something less well known, just for the sake of originality. After all, I take a look around the room in my grad class and notice that most of use have top 10-50 names, and none of us mind.
I think the original is best – “Zoe”. I like it’s simplicity as well as its distinctiveness (regardless of how popular it may be).
A different variant which you have not considered, and in fact the ORIGINAL spelling of my name has a diaresis over the ‘e’ to ensure that the second vowel is pronounced correctly. So Zoe is in fact Zoë!
It is of Greek origin and means ‘Life’ – other transalations, including Biblical ones state that Zoë has also been used for ‘Eve’ in some Jewish texts.
I LOVE my name, it has been very popular over here in the UK for many years, hence there being so many Zoës in their thirties here.
Zoe, I hope I didn’t give the impression that I dislike the name – though I find Zoi and Zoee rather pointless. On the contrary, Zoe is a name we once considered for our daughter!
But as for the diaeresis, I’m not sure that’s quite accurate. The original form of Zoe in Greek would’ve been in, well, Greek. In other words, a different alphabet entirely – and one that doesn’t use diacritical marks to indicate the sound. Just like Chloe sometimes picks up a diaeresis and other times an acute accent, Zoe has been written with both, too.
I rarely use diacritical marks of any kind here – mostly because their use is declining in American English. (Maybe they’re alive and well in England?) And also because they’re not compiled in databases – so while I can see the rise of Zoey, I can’t gauge how many parents are opting for accents in their kids’ names.
I definitely see your point “Zoë” is not the original spelling per se. And I agree that it’s unrealistic (and perhaps a bit pretentious) to expect English speakers to use diacritical marks.
However, it’s not as if Greek uses an entirely unrelated alphabet. Many Latin characters are taken directly from Greek, and there has been a standardized system of transliteration forever. So while “Zoë” is not the original spelling, it is the original transliteration and more accurately reflects the Greek spelling of “Ζωή.”
I don’t know why you say that Greek “doesn’t use diacritical marks to indicate the sound.” It most certainly does. Modern Greek has simplified the use of diacritical marks so that they are primarily used to indicate stress, but they are also used to indicate that vowels are to be pronounced separately instead of as a diphthong. (Perhaps you don’t consider stress to be “sound.”) In Ancient Greek the use of diacritical marks was much more complicated and affected pronunciation in a number of ways.
Zoi does not seem like a crazy alternative spelling to me. The eta (the “η” in “Ζωή”) is often transliterated in modern times as “i,” which better represents the modern pronunciation. The spelling “Zoí” or “Zoï” (with a accent or umlaut over the “i”) is especially appropriate for speakers of Romance and other languages. In many languages, “Zoe” would be pronounced “zoh-eh,” and I can imagine that the Greek father of the Top Chef contestant would think that “Zoe” did not reflect the correct pronunciation.
You’re absolutely right. I’m absolutely wrong, and I’m surprised the comment has gone unchallenged for a year!
What I should have said is that we don’t generally import diacritical marks into American English, even when we preserve the pronunciation. Facade is still facade without the cedilla; the same goes for cafe, even though café is pretty common. So it goes with given names. Zoe could rhyme with Joe, but we all know she rhymes with Joey.
But while there are standard systems of transliteration, it is just that – systems. I take your point that Zoi makes sense coming from the Modern Greek. But Zoe and Chloe are the dominant English language spellings. I believe that’s because of a difference in transliteration from Ancient Greek. Whether that’s technically correct or just customary, I don’t know. Plenty of mistakes – Innogen to Imogen and Cerdic to Cedric – become standard.
In any case, this post dates from my early, more judgmental days. (A whole two years ago.) I didn’t realize I’d left it live – I’ve deleted a number of those old posts. I’ve come to accept that there’s nothing wrong with most variant spellings.
I just had a baby girl last month and we decided to name her Zooey. I am not going to lie was not a fan of the spelling at first when my husband wanted it. It is different, but has grown on me! I couldnt see my baby’s name being spelled any different now! Zooey Brielle!
When we named our daughter Zoe in Boston MA, we were not permitted “the two dots” on top of the e, but the record-taker told us we could “pretend” they were there.
I’ve always loved the name Zoe, since I was 13 and my mother was pregnant & I was trying to help her choose names. Something about the letter Z is what originally attracted me to it, as my maiden name begins with Z. My first choice when I finally became pregnant was to be Zooey Joy. My husband didn’t like it and we ended up going with Zoelie Joy! I wish I could get everyone to pronounce it correctly with the “ay” in the middle, but no one does. Everyone calls her “Zo-lee” and people who just meet her never hear the L in her name and she gets miscalled Zoe on a regular basis. I love her name and would not change it at all, but its tiring to correct people all the time on the pronunciation, which I didn’t foresee.
I’m pregnant and just found out I’m having a girl. I picked out her name over a year ago and it was inspired by the oh so talented Zooey Deschanel. My husband wasn’t accepting of the name, in any variation, until he found out Zoe Saldana played the main character in Avatar.
When I chose her name, my concern was more about the popularity of the name. I grew up with one of he most common names in my class and I still have about 15 friends with the same name.
Zoe was ranked #28 most popular names for US girls at babycenter.com in 2009. I just love the name so much that I’m sticking with it. As far as the spelling, even though I’m naming my baby girl after Zooey D, I’m pretty sure I’ve decided on spelling her name Zoe.
Jenn, I still love Zoe, too. My daughter has a Zoe in her childcare – they’re a few weeks apart. It wears really well on a child, without seeming at all immature on an adult.
I just caught part of an old Sex and the City episode – Carrie is dating a writer, and his sisters are named Frannie and Zooey, after the JD Salinger story. It’s the same story that inspired Deschanel’s parents, so you wouldn’t be the first to opt for the Zooey spelling, but I like Zoe’s spare, straightforward style.
My name is Zoe(no diacritics or anything). I love the name. I ended up on this site because I was trying to prove a point to someone who keeps annoying me by telling me I need to add the dots. I have always hated all variations of the name, but this site was really helpful. I like Zoelie! and Zoi is kind of cool too. Thank you for creating this conversation, because it really let me accept all variations of Zoe.
I really like Zoe, it’s in my top ten girl names actually. I’ve never heard of Zoelie but it seems nice.
Also, I know a woman whose name is pronounced Zoe, except it’s spelled… (get ready for it!…) Xoeiey! It’s terrible, I think, just terrible!