Zachiary
A masculine given name of Hebrew origin meaning "the Lord remembers".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Zachiary. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zachiary today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zachiary births was 1989 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zachiary. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zachiary. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1989
5 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1989 SSA rank
#9,218
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Zachiary: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Zachiary 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 Zachiary during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Zachiary
The given name Zachiary has its origins in Hebrew, derived from the name Zechariah, meaning "the Lord remembers" or "the Lord has remembered." It is a biblical name, first appearing in the Old Testament as the name of several prophets and religious figures.
In the Book of Ezra, Zachiary is mentioned as one of the chief priests who returned from the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE. The name gained prominence during the Second Temple period in Judea, when it was borne by the prophet Zechariah, who lived in the 5th century BCE and is credited with writing the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible.
The name Zachiary was also popular among early Christians, as it was the name of the father of John the Baptist in the New Testament. This association with a prominent figure in the Bible helped to spread the name throughout the Christian world in various spellings and forms, such as Zachary, Zacharias, and Zacarias.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zachiary can be found in the writings of the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus, who mentions a high priest named Zacharias (a variant of Zachiary) who served during the reign of Herod the Great in the 1st century BCE.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Zachiary or its variants. These include:
1. Zachary (c. 679–752), a Pope who reigned from 741 to 752 CE and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
2. Zachary Macaulay (1768–1838), a British abolitionist and governor of Sierra Leone, who played a significant role in the campaign against the slave trade.
3. Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), the 12th President of the United States, who served from 1849 to 1850 and was a career military officer before his presidency.
4. Zachary Macaulay Bampton Hunte (1884–1960), a Barbadian lawyer, politician, and labour activist who played a crucial role in the establishment of trade unions in the British West Indies.
5. Zachary Scott (1914–1965), an American actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows, including the classic film "Mildred Pierce" (1945).
While the name Zachiary has waned in popularity in recent decades, its rich historical roots and biblical connections have ensured its enduring presence across various cultures and religious traditions.
People
Zachiary + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zachiary 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
Zachiary: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zachiary?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zachiary 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 Zachiary a common name?
We classify Zachiary 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 Zachiary most popular?
The single biggest year for Zachiary was 1989, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zachiary is about 36 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 Zachiary in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zachiary a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zachiary 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 Zachiary still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zachiary 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 Zachiary 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 are named Zachiary?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Zachiary, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.