Zara
ज़ाराprincess
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Meaning, spelling & pronunciation →
Girl name · Persian
Zoya
ज़ोया
alive, loving
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Auntie's synthesized voice says “Zoya!” Regional and family pronunciations can differ.
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View your favoritesWhat does Zoya mean?
Zoya has a documented Russian connection with Greek zōē, ‘life’. The cited dictionaries do not establish a Persian origin or the meaning ‘loving’. The life association is supported through the Russian-Greek route, but that does not prove how the name entered every South Asian naming context. Zoe belongs to the same documented Greek word family; a separate Persian derivation would need its own evidence.
No dictionary entry documents this spelling with that sense, so the meaning above is the one families use, not a dictionary definition. How we use sources.
Spelling and pronunciation
ज़ोया is read zo-yaa, in two syllables with a long o and a long ending; زویا is a reported Urdu spelling. Zoia and Zoja are forms used in Eastern European contexts, and Zoyah also appears. The dot under ज़ marks the z sound.
Also spelled Zoia, Zoyah.