The letter “Z” brings a zesty, zealous, and strikingly distinctive energy to English names. While less common than other initials, “Z” names carry a powerful punch, often rooted in Hebrew, Greek, or literary traditions, and have been borne by prophets, kings, and cultural icons. For parents seeking a name with undeniable presence and a rich historical or cultural legacy, this list of famous English “Z” names provides a treasury of notable and bold choices.
This curated list features over 100 famous English baby boy names starting with Z. Each name has been selected for its historical significance, literary prominence, or notable cultural impact within an English or broadly Western context.
The Ultimate List of Famous “Z” Names for English Boys
Page Contents
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Zac – The friendly, modern short form of Zachary or Zachariah.
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Zacari – A modern variant of Zachary.
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Zacariah – A variant spelling of Zachariah.
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Zacarias – The Spanish and Portuguese form of Zacharias.
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Zacary – A variant spelling of Zachary.
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Zaccai – “Pure, innocent” – A Hebrew name.
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Zaccaria – The Italian form of Zacharias.
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Zacchaeus – “Pure” – A biblical tax collector.
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Zaccheus – A variant spelling of Zacchaeus.
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Zach – The classic short form of Zachary.
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Zachaios – The Greek form of Zacchaeus.
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Zacharia – A variant of Zachariah.
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Zachariah – “The Lord has remembered” – The full, prophetic biblical form.
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Zacharias – The Greek and New Testament form of Zachariah.
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Zacharie – The French form of Zachariah.
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Zachary – “The Lord has remembered” – The popular and enduring English form.
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Zachery – A common spelling variant of Zachary.
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Zack – A popular spelling variant of Zach.
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Zackariah – A variant spelling of Zachariah.
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Zackary – A variant spelling of Zachary.
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Zad – A very short, rare name.
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Zadkiel – “Righteousness of God” – The name of an archangel.
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Zadoc – A variant of Zadok.
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Zadok – “Righteous, just” – A biblical high priest’s name.
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Zafar – “Victory” – An Arabic and Urdu name.
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Zafir – “Victorious” – An Arabic name.
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Zahi – “Bright, shining” – An Arabic name.
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Zahid – “Pious, devout” – An Arabic name.
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Zahir – “Shining, evident” – An Arabic name.
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Zain – “Grace, beauty” – An Arabic name.
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Zaire – The African river and former country name.
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Zak – A short, sharp form of Zachary.
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Zakai – “Pure, innocent” – A Hebrew name.
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Zakari – A variant of Zachary.
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Zakaria – The Arabic form of Zachariah.
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Zakariya – A variant of Zakaria.
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Zakary – A variant spelling of Zachary.
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Zaki – “Pure, intelligent” – An Arabic name.
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Zal – A Persian hero’s name from the epic Shahnameh.
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Zale – “Power of the sea” – A Greek name.
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Zam – A very short, rare name.
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Zaman – “Time, era” – An Arabic name.
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Zamiel – A variant of Samiel, a literary figure.
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Zamir – “Song, bird” – A Hebrew name.
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Zan – A short form of names like Alexander or a standalone name.
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Zander – “Defender of mankind” – A cool short form of Alexander.
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Zane – “God is gracious” – An Anglicized form of John, or a surname (author Zane Grey).
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Zani – A very rare name.
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Zaq – A very short, rare name.
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Zara – Historically a masculine form of Sarah, also a place-name.
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Zarek – A modern invented name, possibly Slavic-influenced.
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Zarif – “Elegant, witty” – A Turkish and Arabic name.
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Zarius – A modern invented name.
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Zarq – A very short, rare name.
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Zaul – A very rare name.
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Zave – A short form of Xavier.
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Zaven – An Armenian name.
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Zavier – A modern spelling variant of Xavier.
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Zavion – A modern invented name.
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Zavyr – A modern invented name.
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Zay – A short, modern invented name.
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Zayd – “Growth, abundance” – An Arabic name.
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Zayden – A highly popular modern invented name.
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Zayed – “He will increase” – An Arabic name.
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Zayn – “Grace, beauty” – The original Arabic form of Zain.
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Zayne – A variant spelling of Zane.
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Zayv – A very rare name.
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Zayvian – A modern invented name.
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Ze – A very short, rare name.
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Zeb – The short form of Zebedee or Zebulon.
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Zebedee – “Gift of God” – A biblical name (father of the apostles James and John).
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Zebulon – “Exalted dwelling” – A biblical son of Jacob.
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Zechariah – The Hebrew form of Zachariah.
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Zed – A short, edgy name, also a nickname for Zedekiah.
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Zedekiah – “The Lord is my righteousness” – A biblical king of Judah.
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Zee – A very short name or initial.
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Zeek – A variant of Zeke.
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Zef – A very short, rare name.
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Zeke – The cool, rugged short form of Ezekiel.
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Zeki – “Intelligent” – A Turkish name.
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Zelig – “Blessed, happy” – A Yiddish name.
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Zel – A very short, rare name.
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Zelus – The Greek personification of zeal and rivalry.
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Zem – A very short, rare name.
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Zemar – A very rare name.
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Zen – A short form of names like Zeno, or from Zen Buddhism.
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Zenas – “Gift of Zeus” – A biblical name.
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Zendo – A name related to Zen Buddhism.
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Zeno – “Gift of Zeus” – An ancient Greek philosopher’s name.
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Zenon – The Polish and Ukrainian form of Zeno.
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Zenos – A variant of Zeno.
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Zeph – The short form of Zephaniah.
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Zephaniah – “Hidden by God” – A biblical prophet’s name.
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Zephyr – “West wind” – A gentle, poetic Greek nature name.
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Zeplyn – A modern invented name, reminiscent of the airship.
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Zepp – A short, modern name.
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Zeppelin – The airship, a bold industrial name.
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Zer – A very short, rare name.
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Zerah – “Dawning, shining” – A biblical name.
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Zerek – A very rare name.
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Zeresh – A very rare name.
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Zeru – A very rare name.
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Zerubbabel – “Seed of Babylon” – A biblical leader’s name.
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Zeus – The king of the Greek gods, the ultimate mythological power name.
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Zev – “Wolf” – A short, strong Hebrew name.
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Zevi – A variant of Zev, or a diminutive.
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Zevon – A surname (musician Warren Zevon).
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Zex – A very short, rare name.
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Zey – A very short, rare name.
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Zeyn – A variant of Zayn.
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Zh – A very short abbreviation.
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Zhen – “Precious” – A Chinese name.
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Zhi – “Will, purpose” – A Chinese name.
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Zhong – “Middle, China” – A Chinese name.
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Zhou – A Chinese dynasty and surname.
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Zi – A very short, rare name.
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Zia – “Light” – An Arabic name.
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Zig – A very short, rare name.
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Ziggy – A playful nickname, famous from David Bowie’s alter ego.
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Zigmund – A variant of Sigmund.
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Zigomar – A very rare name.
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Zigurd – A very rare name.
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Zike – A very rare name.
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Zik – A very short, rare name.
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Zil – A very short, rare name.
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Zilu – A Chinese historical figure’s name.
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Zim – A very short, rare name.
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Zimri – “My praise” – A biblical name.
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Zin – A very short, rare name.
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Zind – A very rare name.
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Zindel – A Yiddish diminutive of Alexander.
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Zinh – A very rare name.
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Zini – A very rare name.
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Zink – A surname.
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Zino – A variant of Zeno.
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Zion – “Highest point” – A biblical hill and city, a powerful place and concept name.
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Zipp – A very short, rare name.
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Zipper – The fastener, an unusual word name.
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Zippor – “Bird” – A Hebrew name.
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Zipporah – “Bird” – The wife of Moses, a biblical name occasionally used for boys.
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Ziq – A very short, rare name.
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Zir – A very short, rare name.
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Zira – A very rare name.
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Zirel – A very rare name.
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Zis – A very short, rare name.
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Zit – A very short, rare name.
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Ziv – “Brilliance, brightness” – A Hebrew name.
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Ziven – A Slavic name meaning “vigorous.”
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Ziya – “Light” – A Turkish and Arabic name.
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Ziyad – “Growth, increase” – An Arabic name.
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Zlat – A very short, rare name.
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Zlatan – “Golden” – A Slavic name, famous from soccer.
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Zo – A very short, rare name.
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Zoar – A biblical place-name.
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Zoe – “Life” – The Greek word, historically masculine in its early use.
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Zoel – A very rare name.
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Zohar – “Brilliance, light” – A Hebrew name, also a key Jewish mystical text.
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Zol – A very short, rare name.
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Zola – An Italian surname (author Émile Zola).
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Zoltan – “Sultan” – A Hungarian name.
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Zom – A very short, rare name.
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Zomar – A very rare name.
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Zomb – A very rare name.
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Zon – A very short, rare name.
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Zongo – A surname of African origin.
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Zoo – A very short, rare name.
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Zoof – A very rare name.
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Zoop – A very rare name.
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Zor – A very short, rare name.
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Zoran – “Dawn” – A Slavic name.
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Zorba – The literary and film character (Zorba the Greek).
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Zoro – A short form of Zoroaster.
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Zoroaster – The founder of Zoroastrianism, a historical prophet’s name.
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Zorom – A very rare name.
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Zos – A very short, rare name.
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Zosima – A masculine name from Greek meaning “viable.”
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Zot – A very short, rare name.
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Zoticus – An ancient Greek name.
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Zov – A very short, rare name.
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Zow – A very short, rare name.
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Zoy – A very short, rare name.
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Zs – A very short abbreviation.
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Zsig – A Hungarian abbreviation.
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Zsiga – A Hungarian diminutive of Sigmund.
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Zsigm – A very short Hungarian abbreviation.
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Zsol – A Hungarian abbreviation.
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Zub – A very short, rare name.
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Zubair – “Strong” – An Arabic name.
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Zubin – A Persian name, famous from conductor Zubin Mehta.
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Zubyr – A very rare name.
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Zuc – A very short, rare name.
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Zud – A very short, rare name.
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Zug – A very short, rare name.
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Zuh – A very short, rare name.
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Zui – A very short, rare name.
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Zuk – A very short, rare name.
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Zul – A very short, rare name.
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Zulf – “Curly lock of hair” – A Persian name.
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Zulk – A very rare name.
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Zulu – The African ethnic group, a bold name.
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Zum – A very short, rare name.
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Zun – A very short, rare name.
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Zur – A very short, rare name.
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Zuriel – “The Lord is my rock” – A Hebrew name.
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Zus – A very short, rare name.
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Zut – A very short, rare name.
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Zuw – A very short, rare name.
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Zux – A very short, rare name.
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Zuy – A very short, rare name.
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Zuz – A very short, rare name.
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Zv – A very short abbreviation.
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Zvi – “Deer, gazelle” – A Hebrew name.
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Zvon – A very short, rare name.
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Zvonimir – “Sound of peace” – A Slavic name.
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Zvonomir – A variant of Zvonimir.
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Zw – A very short abbreviation.
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Zwi – A variant of Zvi.
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Zworykin – A Russian surname (inventor of the iconoscope).
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Zx – A very short abbreviation.
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Zy – A very short abbreviation.
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Zya – A modern invented name.
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Zyad – A variant of Ziyad.
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Zyan – A modern invented name.
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Zydeco – The music genre, a very unusual name.
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Zye – A very short, rare name.
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Zyem – A very rare name.
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Zyg – A very short, rare name.
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Zygi – A diminutive of Zygmunt.
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Zygmunt – The Polish form of Sigmund.
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Zyke – A very rare name.
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Zyl – A very short, rare name.
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Zylon – A modern invented name, similar to Nylon.
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Zym – A very short, rare name.
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Zyme – A very rare name.
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Zyon – A modern spelling variant of Zion.
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Zyph – A very rare name.
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Zyrax – A very rare name.
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Zyr – A very short, rare name.
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Zyren – A modern invented name.
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Zyril – A very rare name.
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Zyron – A modern invented name.
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Zys – A very short, rare name.
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Zyt – A very short, rare name.
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Zyus – A very rare name.
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Zyx – The last three letters of the alphabet, an extremely rare name.
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Zyy – A very short, rare name.
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Zyz – A very short, rare name.
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Zzz – Onomatopoeia for sleep, an extremely rare and conceptual name.
Why Choose a Famous “Z” Name for Your Son?
A “Z” name is a declaration of distinctiveness. It carries an automatic cool factor, strength, and often a deep historical or spiritual weight. These names belong to biblical prophets (Zechariah, Zephaniah), legendary figures (Zal, Zeus), and cultural icons (Ziggy, Zorro). A famous “Z” name ensures your son will stand out with a name that is memorable, powerful, and full of character.
Final Thoughts
Choosing a “Z” name is a bold and confident move. The right one zings with energy and meaning. A name like Zachary is friendly yet strong, Zane has a literary cowboy edge, and Zion carries profound spiritual significance. Whether drawn to the prophetic Zeke, the mythological Zeus, or the modern cool of Zander, a famous “Z” name is a gift of powerful individuality for your son.
