Zion
Feminine
Zion is given to both — 7,026 girls and 46,871 boys since 1880. See Zion as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Zion is the hill Jerusalem was built on — and no one has recovered what the word meant before it was a place.
How old is the name Zion?
Zion first appears in US birth records in 1985 — 40 years ago. The typical Zion alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 7,000 people named Zion are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zion most popular?
Zion peaked in 2007, reaching #575 nationally. Today it ranks #2017, 1,442 places below that high. See the whole 2007 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Tsiyyon to Zion
The story of Zion
Zion named David's citadel, then the temple mount, then Jerusalem, then the people, then in Rastafari and African-American spirituals the promised homeland itself — a word that widened at every stage. Zion National Park was named by Mormon settlers. It entered American given-name use for both sexes and is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
The Hebrew Tsiyyon names a ridge in Jerusalem, and its pre-Hebrew origin is genuinely unrecovered. Proposals include a root meaning 'dry place', 'fortress' or 'marker', possibly from a Jebusite word predating Israelite settlement. None is established.
How the name formed
- Tsiyyon
- Sion
- Zion
Related forms: ציון · Sion · Sion
Pronouncing Zion
ZY-un
Two syllables, stress on the first. Hebrew Tsiyyon is tsee-YOHN with a different shape entirely.
Nicknames for Zion
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
- 1985
- Most girls named
- 2007524 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #575reached in 2007
- Change vs 2024
- −10.5%94 in 2025, from 105
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.
Zion in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- ציון in Hebrew — transliteration
- Sion in Spanish — spelling variant
- Sion in Welsh — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Georgia.
Zions among us
people named Zion are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 17,099 born in 2025 was named Zion
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 Tamie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zion's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tamie climbed just as high around 1959, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tamie's path sketches the road Zion is walking now.
Zion 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
Where Zion is headed
Zion is easing off slowly — about 23% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Zion beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zion in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The word widened from a hill to a whole idea of homeland, which is a first-rate history.
- Rastafari and the spirituals both carry it, which is a real cultural depth.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- The original meaning is genuinely unrecovered.
- It reads as more masculine than feminine in America.
- It carries strong religious and political associations.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Zion to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Zion
Feminine · #2017 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zions are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 7,000 people named Zion are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zion in 2025?
- Zion ranks #2017 among US girl names in 2025, with 94 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zion?
- About 1 in every 17,099 US girls born in 2025 was named Zion — 94 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zion with classmates?
- Zion will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zion
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Naima#2017 · Diamond#2017 · Kylani#2017 · Bryn#2017 · Kamilah#2017 · Goldy#2017 · Alyna#2017 · Melodie#2017
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zion? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zion and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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