Zola
Just 20 women in Poland carry it, so most Poles will never meet one. The root is Slavic, with a meaning of calm or peaceful.
Zola Pronunciation
Zola is pronounced ZO-lah (/ˈzɔla/).
What Zola means
Where Zola comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name Zola sits between two maps. Its roots reach into Slavic soil, where the sound belongs to an old family of words. Yet the sense most people attach to it, calm and peaceful, comes from far south, from the Zulu word zola, which names a person who is tranquil.
That double origin gives the name an unusual history. In Xhosa and Zulu communities the word for peace stands close by, and Zola became a given name carried by real people. Zola Budd, the South African runner born in 1966, ran barefoot into the 1984 Olympics and made the name known worldwide.
Europe knew a different Zola first. Émile Zola, the French novelist, signed the 1898 letter J'accuse and shook a nation. His surname turned into a first name for later children.
On a Polish class register, Zola reads short and plain. It fits a form at the urząd without trouble. The Polish gloss keeps things simple: spokojna, calm.
How many people are named Zola
1 in 1127192 women in Poland is named Zola. 20 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #10138 among female names.
Zola's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Zola as a middle name
Zola is a first name for 20 women in Poland and a middle name for another 3, an 87/13 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 5384th, between Zoia (3) and Zuhal (3).
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#5382 Zipporah3
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#5383 Zoia3
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#5384 Zola3
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#5385 Zuhal3
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#5386 Zusanna3