Zion

Where Zion comes from

From Middle English Sion, from Old English Syon, from Ecclesiastical Latin Sīōn, from Koine Greek Σῑών (Sīṓn), from Biblical Hebrew צִיּוֹן (ṣiyyôn). Initial Z- was likely under influence from Early New High German Zion, itself influenced by the Ashkenazi pronunciation /t͡s/.
— Wiktionary's entry for Zion
  • Hebrew
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1917
    First appearance
    #3,545 among boys, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 2000
    Zion Williamson born
    American basketball player
  3. 2002
    Zion Suzuki born
    American-Japanese association footballer
  4. 2023
    Peak, #125
    2,889 babies named Zion — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A hill in West Jerusalem, in Israel, on which ancient Jerusalem was partly built; a centrepiece to Biblical accounts of old days and future eschatological events.
  • A male given name from Hebrew.
  • A female given name.
Namesakes
  • Zion Suzuki · American-Japanese association footballer, born 2002
  • Zion Williamson · American basketball player, born 2000
  • Zion Lights · British author and activist known for her environmental work and science communication, born 1984
  • Zion Golan · Israeli singer, born 1955
  • Zion Johnson · American football player, born 1999

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.