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I've known two women named Zoe. One was my mother, who has been deceased for many years but would be about to turn 90 if she were alive. The other was my college roommate, who is 58 now. So both received the name at a time when it was unusual. I've never known a younger Zoe, or known anyone who used it. I only know it's popular from seeing the statistics.

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I like it, though I used to dislike it. I think that I was influenced to dislike it by the fact that my mother hated her name. I had to break free from that association. I agree that, to some extent, alternate spellings and overuse have ruined it a bit. When I gave my daughter the middle name Zoe to honor my mother, it was still an unusual name, and it stood out. Now, anyone would think she was just given a popular name as a middle, rather than an honoring name. Same for my granddaughter, whose middle name is also Zoe.

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I've always wished that my mom had lived to see her name become popular, while the names she bestowed upon her daughters, common and popular ones at the time, are "dated old lady" names.