Zoe?

[Sall23]

Thoughts on Zoe? Is it a bit dated / 90s? Do you know any?

I think it is a lovely name.
I've come across an occasional Zoe in most generations so I don't consider it dated.
It's one of those names that has never been commonly used, so they tend to be the only one in their class / group, which is nice, and yet it is common enough that everyone has heard of it.

Love it. Zoë not Zoe though

I really like it.

Absolutely LOVE it. Don't know any

Zoë

Zoe rhymes with Joe

It was on our shortlist. Named the dog Zoe when we didn't use it.

Would those who say Zoë, because Zoe rhymes with toe, also say the same about Chloe? All those Greek names are pronounced with the final -e as a separate syllable. Hermione, Penelope etc. We adapt our knowledge of English spelling and pronunciation to account for foreign names.

I know 3, all adults. It’s a nice name.

I really like it and know one baby Zoë.

Love it. Just please don't spell it Zooey, I can't help but say Zoo-ey whenever I see it spelt like that!

Zoe is a gorgeous name, I don't think it's of a particular era at all to be honest.

Biased, as I’m a Zoë, but I love my name. I’m early 40s but have regularly taught small Zoës as a primary teacher and I’ve come across them fairly regularly at toddler groups with DD. Maybe not quite a classic up there with Catherine, Elizabeth et al, but pretty timeless IMO!

Thanks all - more positive than I was expecting

@daisypond

Would those who say Zoë, because Zoe rhymes with toe, also say the same about Chloe? All those Greek names are pronounced with the final -e as a separate syllable. Hermione, Penelope etc. We adapt our knowledge of English spelling and pronunciation to account for foreign names.

Chloe should also be Chloë

Also Noël/Noëlle

Would those who say Zoë, because Zoe rhymes with toe, also say the same about Chloe?

Yes. It should be Chloë. See also words like naïve. The diaeresis is there to show you that the vowel pair isn’t a diphthong. Penelope and Calliope have never been written in English with diaraeses because they don’t have the vowel pairs.

They are often dropped, because many people don’t know how to type them and a lot of official admin systems can’t account for them (they won’t appear on a British passport, for example) but if you’re interested in the origins of the name it makes sense that you might prefer to preserve them.

@daisypond

Would those who say Zoë, because Zoe rhymes with toe, also say the same about Chloe? All those Greek names are pronounced with the final -e as a separate syllable. Hermione, Penelope etc. We adapt our knowledge of English spelling and pronunciation to account for foreign names.

Exactly! Most Zoe's spell it Zoe. Everyone knows how to pronounce it. Why make your kid's life more difficult by adding letters that we don't have in our language?

I know Zoes of various ages up to about 50 but most are between 10 and 22.
I love it. I think it's timeless and classic and the meaning is lovely too.

SOme people are just so pedantic. Everyone knows Zoe is pronounced the same as Zoë. Whether it’s got the ë on it or not!

Though most of the time everyone calls my daughter Zo rather than Zoe,

Exactly! Most Zoe's spell it Zoe. Everyone knows how to pronounce it. Why make your kid's life more difficult by adding letters that we don't have in our language?

My sister is definitely a Zoë. She is very particular about her diaries is. She says she only has 3 letters, please get them right! It is really not that difficult to type now! She lives in a France and is Zoé on French ID. She was most annoyed when British passports ceased to be handwritten (a long time ago) and she to become Zoe rather than Zoë.

Would those who say Zoë, because Zoe rhymes with toe, also say the same about Chloe?

Of course it should be spelled Chloë!

Lovely name.

I think it was outdated a few years ago but seems to back in style. I quite like it but not enough to use it

I adore Zoe/Zoë, whichever way you want to spell it. I honestly don't think it could date.

I have an 11 yo one so I love it. It's randomly popular here in my area though there are 2 more in younger years at our small primary, 2 in the next village over.. No idea why as it's not been popular over the past few decades.

Totally agree @daisypond, @2pinkginsplease and @AbstractHeart.

The people being rather superior about their knowledge of the history of language on this thread need to understand that language evolves, and Zoe is very much not only an acceptable form of spelling the name, but is actually the far more usual way of spelling Zoe in my country (UK) at least.

My baby-naming days are over but I’m fascinated by names, particularly their origins and history. I love this board for the opportunities to talk about nerdy things like diacritics and diphthongs and it is quite nice to have corners of my life where this isn’t sneered at. What a shame that doesn’t seem to be the case any more.