Zion
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew. 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/.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Zion (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Zion has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | – | – |
| 1999 | – | – |
| 2000 | – | – |
| 2001 | – | – |
| 2002 | – | – |
| 2003 | – | – |
| 2004 | – | – |
| 2005 | – | 8 |
| 2006 | – | 16 |
| 2007 | – | 23 |
| 2008 | – | 18 |
| 2009 | – | 16 |
| 2010 | – | 19 |
| 2011 | – | 14 |
| 2012 | – | 11 |
| 2013 | – | 15 |
| 2014 | 2 | 16 |
| 2015 | – | 22 |
| 2016 | – | 29 |
| 2017 | – | 29 |
| 2018 | – | 25 |
| 2019 | 3 | 16 |
| 2020 | 3 | 35 |
| 2021 | – | 49 |
| 2022 | – | 44 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | – | – |
| 2000 | – | – |
| 2001 | – | – |
| 2002 | – | – |
| 2003 | – | 13 |
| 2004 | – | 13 |
| 2005 | – | 23 |
| 2006 | – | 40 |
| 2007 | – | 62 |
| 2008 | – | 80 |
| 2009 | – | 96 |
| 2010 | – | 114 |
| 2011 | 10 | 128 |
| 2012 | 10 | 141 |
| 2013 | 10 | 156 |
| 2014 | 12 | 172 |
| 2015 | 12 | 194 |
| 2016 | 13 | 222 |
| 2017 | 14 | 255 |
| 2018 | 15 | 283 |
| 2019 | 19 | 305 |
| 2020 | 19 | 343 |
Zion in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Zion.Hi! My name is Zion.
- Zion ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Zion called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Zion kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Zion is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Zions mamma är lärare.Zion's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Zions mamma is Zion's mum.
More names
Questions about Zion
How do you pronounce Zion in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Zion in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Zion mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew. 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/.
How popular is Zion in Sweden?
44 babies were named Zion in 2022. In 2020, 362 people in Sweden had Zion as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.