Cool Baby Names That Start with Z

Along with the more common Silke, a diminutive used in Germany for Cecilia and Celia. Both Silke and Zilke are unknown yet usable German names for girls.

This contemporary creation plays on a couple of trends by applying the attractive Z to the rhyming family of names including Hailey, Bailey, and Kayley. The -ee suffix is the icing on the cake. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

If for whatever reason you're wed to the whole Zachary concept, this variation -- either as a proper name or a nickname -- is one way to make it new.

Heard in Spain more as a last name, but would work here as an alluring first.

Zoelie, also spelled Zoélie, looks like a modern elaboration of Zoe but may have deeper roots. It is thought to be a form of Zoelle, a feminization of Zoel, the French version of the saintly name Zoellus. His name seems to be a form of Zoilos... which itself comes from the same root as Zoe, meaning "life"! Whether it's ancient or modern, Zoelie is a pretty name that might appeal as an unusual alternative to Sylvie and Coralie.

Sometimes cited as an Anglicized form of the Spanish name Rosalia/Rosaelia, Zaelia may also derive from other similar-sounding names, like Azalea, Zelia or Zélie. With high-value Scrabble letters and the "ay" sound bang on-trend, it's surprising that this striking name remains so rare.

This is most familiar here as a musical name, via Indian Parsi conductor Zubin Mehta, but it certainly could be used by others.

Zabelle and Zabel are fresh (to us) and ancient forms of Isabel, making zippy variations for modern lovers of that ancient name who feel the original is overexposed.

Makes Susan or Susie more buzzy.

If there are too many Jareds in your neighborhood, you might want to consider this Hebrew alternative.

This zippy, outdoorsy name is a multicultural option, with its roots in Taino and Persian. On one hand, it is the source of the word and name Savannah, derived from Taino, the language of the Indigenous people of the Caribbean. In this case, it refers to areas of flat, grassy land in hot climates.

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