| Cassandra | Zoe | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Shining upon men | Life |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | kuh-SAN-druh | ZOH-ee |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1902 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1990 (7,054) | 2012 (6,466) |
| In 2025 | 463 | 5,646 |
| Trend | Declining | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Cassandra | Zoe |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 2,796 | 31,129 |
| 2010s | 6,365 | 58,094 |
| 2000s | 20,128 | 48,755 |
| 1990s | 50,364 | 16,791 |
| 1980s | 44,911 | 1,999 |
| 1970s | 19,016 | 1,120 |
| 1960s | 16,765 | 952 |
| 1950s | 7,692 | 1,109 |
| 1940s | 2,660 | 569 |
| 1930s | 164 | 735 |
| 1920s | 76 | 694 |
| 1910s | 61 | 466 |
| 1900s | 10 | 239 |
| 1890s | 0 | 323 |
| 1880s | 0 | 281 |
Cassandra is usually read “shining” or “excelling over men”; she is the tragic prophetess of Troy.
From Greek 'zoe' (ζωή) meaning 'life'. Adopted by Hellenistic Jews and early Christians as a translation of Eve ('life').
Zoe is more popular than Cassandra today: about 5,646 US babies were given the name Zoe in 2025, compared with 463 named Cassandra.
Cassandra means Shining upon men (Greek origin), while Zoe means Life (greek origin).
In US records, Cassandra first appears in 1902 and Zoe in 1880, so Zoe has the longer recorded history.