A New Testament tax collector was called Zaccheus, the freshest spin on this biblical favorite. 

Zaccheus

This distinguished name still feels a bit ancient, but with the rise of such former graybeards as Jeremiah and Elijah, it also sounds child-friendly again, as does the Latin-Greek form Zacharias. 
 Zachariah is a name that was in fairly regular use by the Puritans of the sixteenth century, then was eventually and completely overtaken by the more modern sounding Zachary. But strange as it may seem, Zachariah and Zacharias now seem more au courant than Zachary (even though that name remains more popular).
 In the Bible, spelled Zechariah, it is the name of about 30 different personages, one of whom gave his name to the book of Zechariah.
 Zarachiah Hobson is a character in the Thackeray novel, The Newcomes. 
 Zakkai, a Hebrew abbreviation of Zachariah, is another interesting option.

Zachariah

Zachary, a Top 20 name throughout the 90s, is now sliding down the rankings though it remains in the Top 200. With its ancient roots and modern feel, it's easy to understand why Zachary has been such a longtime winner. 
 
Zachary is the English variation of Zacharias, which itself is derived from the Hebrew name Zechariah. The name Zachary is attached to eight different people in the Bible, the most prominent being the father of John the Baptist, and it's also presidential, via 12th president Zachary Taylor. Zackery is an alternate spelling, and nicknames include Zack, Zach, Zac, and Zak.
 
Sir Elton John chose Zachary for his long-awaited first child, which may help propel it back into the spotlight. But contemporary parents might want to keep looking for more original alternatives. Variations such as Zachariah and Zacharias may have longer beards but at the same time feel fresher, while other Z names—from Zebedee to Zane—may suit parents whose main attraction is to the initial Z. 
 
Several of today's prominent Zacharys go by short forms—Zac Hanson, Zac Efron, Zach Galifianakis, Zach Braff and designer Zac Posen.

Zachary

When aspiring British writer Sadie Smith decided to change her name to the more distinctive and zippy Zadie at the age of fourteen, this attention-magnet name was born.  But though it might sound like a modern initial-switch, Zadie was actually Number 539 in 1881, remaining in the Top 1000 for almost thirty years.

Zadie

Zahara, a delicate but strong multicultural name, came into the spotlight when Angelina Jolie bestowed it on her Ethiopian-born daughter, and we predict other parents will adopt it as well. If you want something simpler than Zahara, consider Zara, a royal name in England--but also the name of a Spanish-based clothing store chain.


Zahara

This zippy short form of Zachary is more and more often standing on its own -- sometimes as Zac, Zach, Zack, or even Zakk -- but this simple-yet-straightforward version may be the very best.

Zakk is an ekstra-kinetic spelling of a short form that's more and more often standing on its own, also as Zac, Zak, Zach, and Zack. This version is largely associated with musician Zakk Wylde.

Zakk

An interesting bird name choice if you're seeking a nonbiblical Hebrew name. The zippy Z sound is appealing to more parents, and Zamir entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022.

Zamir

There's Zan and there's Xan--take your pick. Both of these are the latest generation of Alexander nicknames, Xan having been noticed first as a character on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (a rich source of names), and soon phoneticized into Zan. 

Only a handful of baby boys are given Zan or Xan as a full name each year. Zander and Xander are much more popular, with Zander used for about 1000 baby boys annually in the US vs. Xander, given to nearly 2000. 

King of them all is full name Alexander, a Top 25 boys' name in the US for three decades, given last year to about 8500 baby boys. There are lots of nicknames for Alexander, but some of those baby Alexanders are inevitably called Zan or Xan, making this short form much more popular than the numbers suggest.

An international possibility, heard from England and Israel to Poland, Latvia, and Albania. 

Zana

On the rise as an independent name: Zander and Xander are both widely used can increasingly be found as characters in movies and on TV. 

Zander

A name that is rarely heard and might be worth considering as a way of zipping up a namesake Sandra. It has long been associated with iconoclastic British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.
 Zandra did actually invade the lower depths of the U.S. popularity list three times--in 1953, 1970 and 1971.

Zandra

Western novelist Zane (born Pearl!) Grey made this name famous. Now, it's in tune with the style of our times, retaining that appealing cowboy image. 
 Zane Grey was the great-grandson of Ebenezer Zane, founder of Zanesville, Ohio, the town where the writer was born. The name Zane has been on the popularity list since 1921, the heyday of such Zane Grey novels as The Riders of the Purple Sage.
 The Arabic name Zayn, as in musician Zayn Malik, sounds exactly the same as Zane but has a different root. Zayn is one of the fastest-rising names in recent years. And some parents--including country singer Mindy McReady -- use the spelling Zayne.

Zane

A feminine multicultural nickname name perfectly able to stand on its own. 

Zanna

Zara has multiple origins, but most notably is a variation of Zahrah, a name derived from the Arabic zahrah, meaning "blooming flower." Zara can also be a diminutive of the Bulgarian name Zaharina, a feminine form of the Hebrew Zechariah. Today, Zara is heavily associated with the Spanish fast-fashion empire of the same name.
 
Zara is an evocative name, often used in early movies and novels for a sultry character from the East — Greta Garbo played one in the 1932 film As You Desire Me. Britain's Princess Anne defied royal convention by giving her daughter the Arabic name in 1981, thus bestowing on Zara instant upper-class status.
 One of the first uses of Zara was by William Congreve in his 1697 play The Mourning Bride as the name of an African queen. Zara, Priestess of the Golden Flame, also was a Wonder Woman comic book villain.
 Zara can also be spelled Zarah or Zahra, as Chris Rock did for his daughter. The related Zahara is the name of Brad and Angelina's oldest daughter.
 
Possible downside:the Zara clothing stores now in many malls.

Zara

Zeke is a casual form of the name Ezekiel, an important prophet from the Old Testament. How well Zeke holds up depends on the boy: it could be a cooler alternative of Zack, or it could prove too close to "geek." Both Zeke and Ezekiel lag behind in popularity on the UK charts.
 On Sons of Anarchy, Zeke is spelled Zeek. Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot goes by Zeke.

Zeke

Zela

Classified as an early beauty, Zelda has long and often been used as such for characters in books and films. Since 1986, Zelda has been a prime Nintendo name, as in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
 Zelda was in baby name limbo for a number of years, but it's making a comeback with the interest in Z (and X) names. It was one of the fastest-rising <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ names</a> of 2015, when it entered the Top 1000 for the first time in nearly 50 years.
 For many, there will always be a strong association to Scott Fitzgerald's tortured wife, herself a writer and a symbol of the 1920's Jazz Age — also the subject of a recent novel-turned-television show.
 
Trivia tidbit: Marilyn Monroe was known to sometimes use the pseudonym Zelda Zonk.

Zelda

Two Zells of note: conservative southern senator Zell Miller, and video-game character Zell, a hero of "Final Fantasy." 

Zell

The Selma-Thelma-Velma connection dates it. 

Zelma

Zelmo Beaty was a noted basketball player in the 1960s and 1970s; his name has an offbeat tickle-me-Zelmo feel. 

Zelmo

A spiritual word name used by actor Zoe Saldana for her son as well as more recently Nick Cannon and Alyssa Scott for their late son. Zen has been trending in recent years along with other spiritual names such as Bodhi and Zion, and recently entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2022.

Familiar through the similarly pronounced TV Warrior Princess, but the original Xena spelling is cooler. 

Zena

This name of a daughter of Zeus has an intriguing air of antiquity. 

Zenaida

With historical roots as a beautiful and intelligent ancient queen and literary ties to Hawthorne and Edith Wharton novels, this rarity could appeal to adventurous parents seeking the romantically unusual. Tina Fey used it as her daughter Alice's middle name.
 Zenobia was the intriguing third-century Queen of Palmyra who for a time ruled the eastern Roman Empire, Ethan Frome's wife Zeena was born Zenobia, and Zenobia Moodie was one of the most colorful characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance.
 Zenobia reached a high of Number 683 in 1909 but had dropped back out of the Top 1000 by the mid-1920s.

Zenobia

More than zero, but perhaps too close to Vera. 

Zera

Zero has been documented as a given name before, but it's largely familiar as a stage name (such as Zero Mostel, born Samuel Joel Mostel) and comic book and anime characters.

Zero

A rarely heard Hebrew name whose zippy first initial Z transforms it from dated Yetta-like image to more lively Catherine Zeta Jones-like appeal.

Zetta

The supreme Olympian god represents a mighty image for a little fella to live up to, but more and more parents are beginning to consider it seriously.  The Roman equivalent Jupiter has also come down to earth.  And Zeus wasn't just the supreme god, he was also the god of the sky, thunder, lightning, and fate, among other weighty responsibilities.

Zeus

One of the most unusual of the "iah" names, it comes with the appealing and usable nickname Zev.

Zevadiah

A short and zippy name that would blend right in with but also stand out among a group of girls named Mia, Gia, Lia and Tia. If you're searching for <a href="https://nameberry.com/girl-names">girl names</a> that work in many cultures, this is an accessible yet distinctive choice. One caveat though: in an Italian-American family it would be strange to have a baby named Aunt.

Zina

Zinnia is an unusual floral choice with a bit more edge and energy than most and beginning to find its way onto namers' wish lists of botanical possibilities. Named after an eighteenth German botanist called Johann Gottfried Zinn, it appears in Roald Dahl's Matilda as the young protagonist's mother.
 In the language of flowers, Zinnias symbolize remembrance.

Zinnia

Zion has taken off in recent years, especially after singer Lauryn Hill used it for her son in 1997 and incorporated the name into a hit song. It combines a user-friendly Ryan-Brian sound with the gravitas of religious significance. The Hebrew pronunciation is 'tzeeyon'.
 In the Old Testament, the name Zion frequently refers to the city of Jerusalem as a whole, and came to be symbolic of Jewish national aspirations, and thus was the source of the term Zionism.

Zion

There are many variations of this name, with or without the initial T and the final h, with one p or two.  In the Bible she was the wife of Moses.

Zipporah

Also a synonym for the Hebrew month of Iyar, which usuually falls in May, would work and play well with others like Zev and Lev.

This was the name of two men mentioned in the Bible; Aziza might be a better choice. 

Ziza

Zoe is one of those surprising names that has been on the Top 1000 nearly every year since 1880, but it's only since the turn of this century that it's ranked in the Top 100. 
 
Despite its popularity in several spellings -- Zoey ranks nearly as highly -- Zoe still manages to sound distinctive. Credit the initial Z, the sleek simplicity, the not-silent final e, and the name's compelling. meaning: life.
 
The history of Zoe begins in the third century when the Alexandrian Jews translated Eve, which means 'life,' to the Greek equivalent Zoe. Zoe was in use as far back as the Roman classical period, and was popular with the early Christians, who bestowed it with hopes of eternal life, but it didn't migrate to the English-speaking world until the mid-nineteenth century.
 
Zoe Washbourne was a strong warrior in the sci-fi show Firefly, Zoe Hart the leading female character on Hart of Dixie, Zoe Barnes a journalist on House of Cards, and kids might recognize Zoe from Sesame Street.
 Zoe is currently hot around the world, popular in countries from Scotland to Spain, France to New Zealand.
 Zoe has spawned a number of variant spellings, including Zoey, Zoie, and Zooey. Zoey has been embraced by TV scripters--she has been seen on the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101, The West Wing and How I Met Your Mother. Zoie ranked in the Top 1000 for 20 years but has just dropped out. 
 Wide-eyed actress Zooey Deschanel, whose first name is pronounced the same as Zoe, was named after Zooey Glass, the male protagonist of the J. D. Salinger novella Franny and Zooey.

Zoey is a modern spelling variation of Zoe, the Greek Jewish translation of Eve. For a few years, it was even more popular than the original Zoe, but has now dropped back to the second ranked spelling. 
Despite its Jewish origins, Zoe was historically more popular among Christians. Two early saints were named Zoe—Saint Zoe of Rome and Saint Zoe of Pamphylia. 
Zoey has been a consistent favorite for girls in the 21st century, its kinship with Joey giving it a tomboyish feel. Zoie is a US Top 1000 name as well. Zoey has become a screenwriters' fave, with characters by that name appearing on Zoey 101, Nurse Jackie and The West Wing.

Zoey

Zora is a meaningful literary heroine name honoring Zora Neale Hurston, an important black writer and leader of the Harlem Renaissance. 
 Spelled Zorah, it is a biblical place name, and is also the name of a character in the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta Ruddigore.
 Fairly well used from the 1880s until 1940, Zora reached a high of Number 293 in 1885.

Zora

Kate_Elaine's list "Names Beginning with "Z"" of 40 great name ideas: Zaccheus - Zora!

Names Beginning with "Z"

The letter Z hasn't always been the most attractive one when it comes to baby names, but recently parents have been picking up on the trend. How do you feel when it comes to the 26th letter of the alphabet?