Houdhoud, the hoopoe

A Name Story by Houdhoud

زُويَا

Zoya

ZOH-ya

Loving; full of life.”

About Zoya

Zoya is a Muslim baby girl's name meaning "loving; full of life" — an Urdu-Arabic name carried for centuries across the Muslim world.

Modern South Asian feminine name; some sources connect it to the Arabic root for love/care, others to a Slavic root meaning 'life'. Used widely in Pakistani and Indian Muslim families.

Popular in Pakistani families.

Origin & roots

Origin

Urdu · Arabic

Gender

Girl

Root letters

Urdu draws its naming vocabulary directly from Arabic and Persian; Zoya's root letters are at home in all three.

How to say it

ZOH·ya

Stressed syllable in capitals

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Zoya: Meaning, Pronunciation, and Origin · Houdhoud