Zac
A diminutive of the Hebrew masculine name Zachary, meaning "the Lord remembers".
Name Census estimates that about 1,534 living Americans carry the first name Zac. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zac today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zac births was 2014 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zac. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 223,438 Americans
Peak year
2014
84 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,379
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Zac: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zac from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 692 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zac remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zac by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Zac during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zacs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Zac, while Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 65 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zac
Zac is a diminutive form of the Hebrew name Zachary, which means "the Lord remembers" or "God has remembered." The name traces its origins back to ancient Israel, with roots in the Old Testament. It is derived from the Hebrew word "zachar," meaning "to remember."
The earliest recorded use of the name Zachary can be found in the Bible, particularly in the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah. In these texts, Zachary is mentioned as a priest who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Zac is Zacchaeus, a tax collector mentioned in the New Testament Gospel of Luke. According to the biblical account, Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus as he passed through Jericho.
In the 4th century, Saint Zachary was a Pope who reigned from 679 to 689 AD. He is remembered for his efforts in promoting church reform and defending the faith against heresies.
During the Middle Ages, Zac remained a popular name among Christians, particularly in Europe. One notable bearer of the name was Zachary Wheeler (1634-1696), an English clergyman and author who wrote extensively on theological topics.
In the 17th century, Zachary Boyd (1585-1653) was a Scottish minister and scholar who served as the rector of the University of Glasgow and authored several works on religious subjects.
As the name spread to other cultures and languages, it took on various spellings and forms, including Zac, Zach, and Zack. In the 19th century, Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) was a prominent American military leader who served as the 12th President of the United States from 1849 to 1850.
People
Zac + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zac as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zac: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zac?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,534 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zac going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 223,438 US residents.
Is Zac a common name?
We classify Zac as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,563 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zac most popular?
The single biggest year for Zac was 2014, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zac is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zac a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zac in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.