Zoya is the Russian form of Zoe, from the Greek word for "life". It is also popular in Urdu- and Persian-speaking families, which gives it an unusual reach from Moscow to Mumbai, and Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is remembered in Russia as a heroine of the Second World War. In the United States Zoya rose from number 1371 in 2015 into the top 1000 in 2020, peaked at number 792 in 2022 and ranks number 1002 in 2025.