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Is Zoe the next Mackenzie?

April 13, 2008 By appellationmountain 22 Comments

Back in 1996, I met a Mackenzie.

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Comments

  1. A says

    June 23, 2022 at 10:10 AM

    I’d really like to read this but the article is missing! Any chance you could restore it please? 🙂

    Reply
  2. Me me me says

    October 25, 2017 at 4:03 PM

    This article is missing!

    Reply
  3. Anya says

    July 9, 2010 at 9:27 PM

    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!

    Reply
  4. Zoe says

    May 25, 2010 at 8:49 PM

    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.

    Reply
  5. Jenn says

    April 21, 2010 at 6:15 AM

    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.

    Reply
    • appellationmountain says

      April 21, 2010 at 8:43 AM

      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.

      Reply
  6. Laney says

    March 22, 2010 at 5:14 PM

    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.

    Reply
  7. Margery says

    October 31, 2009 at 4:11 PM

    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.

    Reply
  8. Sam says

    September 28, 2009 at 2:09 AM

    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!

    Reply
  9. Anonymous says

    April 10, 2009 at 8:12 AM

    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 Zo

    Reply
  10. Anonymous says

    April 10, 2009 at 8:12 AM

    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 Zo

    Reply
  11. Anonymous says

    April 10, 2009 at 8:12 AM

    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 Zo

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

    April 10, 2009 at 8:12 AM

    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 Zo

    Reply
  13. Anonymous says

    April 10, 2009 at 8:12 AM

    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 Zo

    Reply
    • appellationmountain says

      April 10, 2009 at 11:53 PM

      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.

      Reply
      • skordoula says

        April 8, 2010 at 5:55 PM

        I definitely see your point “Zo

        Reply
        • appellationmountain says

          April 9, 2010 at 6:55 AM

          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 caf

          Reply
  14. Kat says

    February 24, 2009 at 7:43 PM

    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).

    Reply
  15. dandan says

    September 13, 2008 at 5:35 AM

    I love Zooey Deschanel and the spelling of her name. It just looks so much better and really suits Ms Deschanel!

    Reply
  16. appellationmountain says

    June 10, 2008 at 8:44 PM

    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.

    Reply
  17. Lola says

    June 10, 2008 at 4:16 PM

    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.

    Reply
  18. coolteamblt says

    April 14, 2008 at 4:34 AM

    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!

    Reply

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