Zenovia
Feminine · “Life of Zeus”
Zenobia ruled Palmyra, took Egypt from Rome, declared her son emperor, and was defeated by Aurelian in 272. Zenovia is the Greek and Slavic spelling of her name, and its American peak is 2022 — sixteen centuries later.
How old is the name Zenovia?
Zenovia first appears in US birth records in 1926 — 99 years ago. The typical Zenovia is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Zenovia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zenovia most popular?
Zenovia peaked in 2022, reaching #3827 nationally. Today it ranks #5554, 1,727 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Bat-Zabbai to Zenovia
The story of Zenovia
Septimia Zenobia was queen of Palmyra and, after her husband's assassination, ruled a state that at its height held Syria, Egypt and much of Asia Minor; Aurelian defeated her in 272 and, by most accounts, paraded her in Rome and let her live out her life in Tibur. Her reputation as a learned and formidable ruler survived in Arabic as al-Zabba and in European writing as a byword for a warrior queen. The Greek and Slavic form Zenovia is used in Greece and the Balkans, and its recent American peak reflects both those communities and a broader current appetite for Z names.
Meaningscholars disagree
Life of Zeus
Greek Zēnobia is generally read as the life of Zeus, from Zēn, a form of Zeus, and bios, life. The historical queen's own name was Aramaic — Bat-Zabbai, daughter of Zabbai — and the Greek form may be an adaptation of it rather than a translation. Both facts are documented, and which the name carries depends on which language you start in.
How the name formed
- Bat-Zabbai
- Zēnobia
- Zenovia
Related forms: Ζηνοβία · Zenobia · Zinovia · الزباء
Pronouncing Zenovia
zeh-NOH-vee-ah
Four syllables, stress on the second. Greek gives the same placement; English speakers sometimes say zen-OH-vee-uh, which is close.
Nicknames for Zenovia
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1926
- Most girls named
- 202239 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3827reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- +4.8%22 in 2025, from 21
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Zenovia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ζηνοβία in Greek — transliteration
- Zenobia in English — spelling variant
- Zinovia in Russian — related form
- الزباء in Arabic — related form
Zenovias among us
people named Zenovia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 73,058 born in 2025 was named Zenovia
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jowanna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zenovia's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jowanna climbed just as high around 1959, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jowanna's path sketches the road Zenovia is walking now.
Zenovia sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Zenovia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zenovia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The historical bearer is genuinely extraordinary and easy to look up.
- Zena and Nova are both usable short forms, the second currently fashionable.
- The Z opening is uncommon and makes it distinctive.
- Four syllables is long for American paperwork.
- Zenobia is the commoner English spelling and will be written for it.
- The Greek meaning may be an adaptation of an Aramaic name rather than a translation.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Zenovia to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Zenovia? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Zenovia
Feminine · #5554 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zenovias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Zenovia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zenovia in 2025?
- Zenovia ranks #5554 among US girl names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zenovia?
- About 1 in every 73,058 US girls born in 2025 was named Zenovia — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zenovia with classmates?
- Zenovia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zenovia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eda#5554 · Phebe#5554 · Felicia#5554 · Audie#5554 · Maryellen#5554 · Warren#5554 · Ruthann#5554 · Nettie#5554
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zenovia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zenovia and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle