This page is historical. Follow this link for the current version.
Dictionary of Medieval Names
from European Sources
☙

Zoete f. Middle Dutch soete, suete 'sweet' (modern Dutch zoete), a cognate of Old English swée, Middle Low German, sote, sute.

The use of this as a name is analogous of the use of Dulce and Soave in Romance languages. For more on the etymology of soete, see OED, s.v. sweet (adj.).

Cite as: J. Uckelman, S.L. Uckelman. "Zoete". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2015, no. 2. http://dmnes.org/2015/2/name/Zoete.