Ziva appears 67 times at rank 1567 on female pets, almost entirely driven by one source: Ziva David, the Mossad agent turned NCIS team member played by Cote de Pablo. The character ran from 2005 to 2013, returned briefly in 2019, and her name became a genuine pop-culture artifact in the dog-naming world.
The NCIS Pipeline
Ziva David was tough, competent, direct, and fiercely loyal. Naming a female dog Ziva is a specific kind of owner self-expression: this dog is not soft. The name competes with Raven and Nova for owners who want a female name with edge rather than sweetness.
Hebrew Roots and Sound
Ziva means "radiance" or "brightness" in Hebrew, from the root ZYV. The etymology gives the name warmth underneath the hard exterior the TV character lent it. ZEE-vah is crisp, two syllables, Z-opening, and easy to call in a multi-dog household. German shepherds and Belgian Malinois are the most common recipients. The human parallel lives at /names/ziva.
The Counter-Reading
Ziva's pop-culture origin is strong enough that owners who have never seen NCIS will still encounter it from people who have. The name stands on its own. The Hebrew meaning is genuinely beautiful, but the TV association is inescapable at this cultural moment.