FastNamesZachary
Hebrew name meaning "Derived from biblical Hebrew Zechariah (זְכַרְיָה), compound of zakhar ('to remember') and Yah (Yahweh), signifying 'Yahweh has remembered'.". Ranked 216th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Zachary
Derived from biblical Hebrew Zechariah (זְכַרְיָה), compound of zakhar ('to remember') and Yah (Yahweh), signifying 'Yahweh has remembered'.
Linguistically, Zachary is classified under Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "ZAK-uh-ree".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Zachary has been given to a total of 551,752 boys. It has also been given to 1,529 girls.
Peak year: Zachary reached its highest relative share among boys in 1993, when 25,538 babies received the name (13,021 per million births).
All-time best rank: 12th place, first achieved in 1994.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 216th with 1,646 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 88th (down 128 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Zachary in the 1990s than in any other decade (225,290 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 6 |
| 1910s | 109 |
| 1920s | 168 |
| 1930s | 142 |
| 1940s | 404 |
| 1950s | 2,169 |
| 1960s | 3,476 |
| 1970s | 19,060 |
| 1980s | 101,818 |
| 1990s | 225,290 |
| 2000s | 134,756 |
| 2010s | 51,146 |
| 2020s | 13,208 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Zachary is most common in the US
Accounting for when Zachary was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- New Hampshire: 1.7 times the national rate (3,326 births since 1910).
- Maine: 1.6 times the national rate (3,125 births since 1910).
- West Virginia: 1.6 times the national rate (4,803 births since 1910).
- Iowa: 1.5 times the national rate (8,168 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.5 times the national rate (1,225 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Zachary?
About 533,000 living American boys and men share the name Zachary. Additionally, an estimated 1,500 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Zachary is 30 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Zachary
Zachary is the English vernacular form of the Hebrew theophoric name Zechariah. The name incorporates the root zakhar ('to remember') and the divine name Yahweh, expressing gratitude that God remembers his people and promises. In the Old Testament, Zechariah was a major post-exilic prophet whose visions of restoration compose the Book of Zechariah. In the New Testament Gospel of Luke, Zechariah was the righteous priest and father of John the Baptist who regained his voice after writing 'His name is John'.
In England, Zachary emerged after the Reformation as a friendlier, three-syllable vernacular alternative to the formal biblical Zechariah. It gained presidential stature in nineteenth-century America with Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), 'Old Rough and Ready', hero of the Mexican-American War and 12th President of the United States.
In official United States birth statistics, Zachary underwent a massive surge from the late 1960s through the 1990s. Prized by parents for its energetic initial Z and jaunty nickname Zach, Zachary climbed into the national top twenty in 1992 and held a place in the top fifteen from 1993 through 1999, peaking at rank 12 in 1994, registering over 25,000 births in a single year.
Notable people named Zachary
- Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), 12th U.S. President and national military hero
- Zachary Levi (1980–), American actor and singer
- Zachary Quinto (1977–), American Emmy-nominated actor and film producer
- Zachary Scott (1914–1965), American stage and film actor
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 281.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 298.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), p. 271.