Zionn.

Etymology: < post-classical Latin Sion the name of one of the hills of Jerusalem, also (in extended use) the city of Jerusalem (especially in filia Sion ‘daughter Zion’), the Jewish people, the heavenly city (Vulgate), the Church (4th or 5th cent. in Augustine) < Hellenistic Greek Σιών one of the hills of Jerusalem, also (in extended use) the city of Jerusalem (especially in ἡ θυγάτηρ Σιών ‘daughter Zion’), the Jewish people, the heavenly city (Septuagint, New Testament) < Hebrew Ṣiyyōn, the name of one of the hills of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:7, etc.), and hence (in extended use, e.g. in the personification baṯ-Ṣiyyōn ‘daughter Zion’) of the city of Jerusalem or its population; the place name is of uncertain and disputed origin (a connection with a Hebrew root meaning ‘dry, arid’ has often been suggested, but is not secure).The form with initial z is apparently first attested in the Geneva Bible. With it perhaps compare Middle French, French Zion (1535 or earlier), variant of the more common Sion (12th cent. in Old French). German Zion (16th cent., e.g. in Luther) is pronounced with initial /ts/ (so could have influenced the French and English forms with z- only by purely graphic analogy); it perhaps reflects an Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew place name.