Fun Facts About the Name Zion
- More than 53 thousand babies named Zion: U.S. records list 53,863 babies given the name Zion from 1880 through 2025. Of these, 7,022 girls received the name Zion - about 1 girl for every 7 boys.
What Does the Name Zion Mean?
Zion is a Hebrew name, from the biblical Hebrew צִיּוֹן (Tsiyyon), also transliterated Sion. In the Hebrew Bible it is first the name of a fortified hill in Jerusalem - the stronghold that David took from the Jebusites. The meaning of the Hebrew word itself is uncertain. A common explanation connects it to a root meaning "dry" or "parched," giving "dry place" or "parched hill"; another connects it to a root meaning "to guard" or "to fortify," giving "citadel" or "fortress." Because the word appears as a place name before it is used as a common noun, some scholars suspect it is older than the Israelites' use of it and was taken over from an earlier, non-Hebrew name, but no such derivation is firmly established.
By the time of the later biblical books, Tsiyyon had shifted from a specific hill to the Temple Mount, then to Jerusalem as a whole, and in poetry and prophecy to the people and land of Israel. In Arabic the same place name appears as صهيون (Ṣahyūn). This wider, symbolic use grew out of the place name; it is not a separate literal meaning of the word.
Zion Name History & Origins
The Hebrew Bible names Zion as the Jebusite stronghold on the hill of Jerusalem that David captured and made his capital. In later books of the Bible the word moves from that single hill to the Temple Mount and then to Jerusalem itself, and the prophets use it for the restored city and the ingathered people of Israel. After the destruction of the Temple, "Zion" became a central image of exile and return in Jewish prayer and poetry, including the closing wish of the Passover seder, "Next year in Jerusalem."
In the nineteenth century the movement to re-establish a Jewish homeland took the name Zionism from this word. Separately, the Rastafari movement, which emerged in Jamaica in the twentieth century, adopted Zion as a name for Africa, for Ethiopia, or for an ideal homeland, and reggae lyrics spread that usage widely.
Through Greek and Latin Bible translation the name entered European languages as Sion, which is the form used in many French and Dutch texts. The Swiss town of Sion is unrelated; its name comes from Latin Sedunum.
Zion is also used as a personal given name, both in English-speaking countries and in modern Israel, where it appears as ציון. Parents have generally drawn on the biblical place name and its religious and symbolic weight rather than on any single meaning of the Hebrew word.
How Popular is the Name Zion?
Zion recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2023. Its best rank was #125 in 2023.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,035 | 94 | 0.0058% |
| 2024 | #1,919 | 104 | 0.0064% |
| 2023 | #1,602 | 131 | 0.0082% |
| 2022 | #1,546 | 139 | 0.0085% |
| 2021 | #1,449 | 149 | 0.0091% |
| 2020 | #1,229 | 186 | 0.0115% |
| 2019 | #1,171 | 204 | 0.0122% |
| 2018 | #1,042 | 248 | 0.0146% |
| 2017 | #924 | 287 | 0.0166% |
| 2016 | #927 | 298 | 0.0168% |
| 2015 | #895 | 309 | 0.0173% |
| 2014 | #910 | 298 | 0.0167% |
| 2013 | #822 | 328 | 0.0187% |
| 2012 | #778 | 354 | 0.0201% |
| 2011 | #613 | 472 | 0.0268% |
| 2010 | #691 | 414 | 0.0233% |
| 2009 | #736 | 394 | 0.0214% |
| 2008 | #696 | 434 | 0.0230% |
| 2007 | #575 | 524 | 0.0273% |
| 2006 | #811 | 337 | 0.0177% |
| 2005 | #988 | 248 | 0.0134% |
| 2004 | #1,085 | 212 | 0.0115% |
| 2003 | #1,445 | 137 | 0.0075% |
| 2002 | #1,519 | 125 | 0.0070% |
| 2001 | #1,347 | 143 | 0.0079% |
| 2000 | #1,261 | 156 | 0.0086% |
| 1999 | #1,168 | 167 | 0.0094% |
| 1998 | #3,013 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 1997 | #4,816 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 1996 | #5,064 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1995 | #8,762 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1994 | #8,123 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #15,794 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1992 | #10,476 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #12,359 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #12,504 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #142 | 2,496 | 0.1461% |
| 2024 | #151 | 2,359 | 0.1375% |
| 2023 | #125 | 2,883 | 0.1687% |
| 2022 | #143 | 2,630 | 0.1508% |
| 2021 | #136 | 2,767 | 0.1583% |
| 2020 | #144 | 2,534 | 0.1469% |
| 2019 | #153 | 2,551 | 0.1422% |
| 2018 | #181 | 2,182 | 0.1202% |
| 2017 | #199 | 1,977 | 0.1068% |
| 2016 | #213 | 1,849 | 0.0975% |
| 2015 | #227 | 1,693 | 0.0883% |
| 2014 | #254 | 1,484 | 0.0773% |
| 2013 | #236 | 1,530 | 0.0809% |
| 2012 | #235 | 1,533 | 0.0808% |
| 2011 | #245 | 1,456 | 0.0767% |
| 2010 | #230 | 1,528 | 0.0796% |
| 2009 | #240 | 1,473 | 0.0743% |
| 2008 | #230 | 1,601 | 0.0785% |
| 2007 | #234 | 1,553 | 0.0748% |
| 2006 | #265 | 1,302 | 0.0634% |
| 2005 | #293 | 1,120 | 0.0561% |
| 2004 | #311 | 1,008 | 0.0508% |
| 2003 | #329 | 879 | 0.0445% |
| 2002 | #333 | 828 | 0.0426% |
| 2001 | #324 | 867 | 0.0446% |
| 2000 | #300 | 1,004 | 0.0511% |
| 1999 | #274 | 1,070 | 0.0557% |
| 1998 | #695 | 242 | 0.0127% |
| 1997 | #1,508 | 70 | 0.0037% |
| 1996 | #1,615 | 61 | 0.0032% |
| 1995 | #2,101 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 1994 | #2,218 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 1993 | #2,696 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1992 | #2,411 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 1991 | #3,461 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1990 | #5,819 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #5,614 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1988 | #4,159 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1987 | #3,730 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1985 | #4,697 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #6,311 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #4,137 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1982 | #3,963 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #4,152 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #6,246 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #4,841 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #4,155 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #4,582 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #4,935 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #4,305 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1974 | #3,119 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1973 | #5,876 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1917 | #3,980 | 6 | 0.0006% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore More Lists with Name Zion
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with Z
Unique Short Boy Names That Start with Z
How the Name Zion Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have aspiration and inspiration, hope and guidance. Since you are intuitive and perceptive and you understand human nature. You have the power to achieve. Diplomacy and discretion make you a good mediator. You are inspired, introspective, and have a good understanding of the human heart. You can have the ability to commercialize your artistic talents successfully. You are often a mystery to others and to yourself. You are always reaching for something higher, without exactly knowing what that "higher" is. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Zion's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Zion's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.