Zacharya
A biblical masculine name derived from Hebrew meaning "the Lord remembers".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Zacharya. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zacharya today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zacharya births was 2005 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zacharya. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Zacharya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zacharya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2005
5 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2005 SSA rank
#13,337
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Zacharya: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Zacharya 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 Zacharya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Zacharya
The name Zacharya is a variant spelling of the Hebrew name Zechariah, which has its origins in the ancient Hebrew language. The name is believed to have emerged around the 5th century BCE during the Persian period of ancient Israel. It is derived from the Hebrew words "zakar," meaning "to remember," and "Yah," referring to the Hebrew name for God. Thus, the name Zacharya carries the meaning "God remembers" or "the Lord has remembered."
The name Zacharya gained significant prominence in the Bible, where it was borne by the prophet Zechariah, one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. Zechariah's prophetic book, which bears his name, contains visions and prophecies concerning the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah. His ministry took place during the post-exilic period, after the return of the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zacharya can be found in the Book of Ezra, which mentions Zechariah, the son of Iddo, as a prophet who encouraged the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. This Zechariah lived around 520 BCE and is believed to be the same person as the author of the Book of Zechariah.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zacharya or its variants:
1. Zechariah (c. 520 BCE), the Old Testament prophet and author of the Book of Zechariah.
2. Zechariah (1st century BCE), a high priest of Jerusalem during the reign of Herod the Great.
3. Zechariah (c. 280 BCE), a Greek historian and philosopher from Babylon.
4. Zechariah of Mytilene (c. 536 CE), a Byzantine scholar and historian from Mytilene, Greece.
5. Zechariah ben Avkolas (c. 260 CE), a Jewish Talmudic scholar and the son of the famous Rabbi Avkolas.
While the name Zacharya has its roots in ancient Hebrew and biblical history, it has been used across various cultures and religions over time, with slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, the core meaning of "God remembers" or "the Lord has remembered" has remained consistent throughout its usage.
People
Zacharya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zacharya 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
Zacharya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zacharya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zacharya 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Zacharya a common name?
We classify Zacharya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zacharya most popular?
The single biggest year for Zacharya was 2005, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zacharya is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Zacharya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zacharya a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zacharya 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.
Is Zacharya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zacharya in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Zacharya can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Zacharya?
Want to know how many people share the name Zacharya? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.