Zakariyah
A masculine Arabic name meaning "God has remembered".
Name Census estimates that about 165 living Americans carry the first name Zakariyah. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Zakariyah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zakariyah births was 2012 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zakariyah. 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
165
~ 1 in 2,077,299 Americans
Peak year
2012
17 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,271
Tracked since 2007
Gender
Gender distribution for Zakariyah
Zakariyah leans heavily male at 88.6% of total registrations, but 19 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Zakariyah as a male name
- Ranked #8,271 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (16 births)
Zakariyah as a female name
- Ranked #16,479 in 2013
- 6 female births in 2013
- Peak: 2011 (7 births)
Popularity
Zakariyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zakariyah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 112 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zakariyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zakariyah 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 Zakariyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zakariyah
The name Zakariyah is of Arabic origin, derived from the Hebrew name Zechariah, which means "God has remembered" or "Yahweh remembers." This name has its roots in ancient Semitic languages and has been in use for centuries across various cultures and religions.
The earliest known reference to the name can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where Zechariah was a prophet and a priest who lived during the 6th century BCE. His book, the Book of Zechariah, is included in the Old Testament and is considered one of the most important prophetic works of that era.
In the Islamic tradition, Zakariyah (also spelled as Zakariya) was the name of a prophet mentioned in the Quran. He is revered as the father of John the Baptist (Yahya) and is celebrated for his unwavering faith and devotion to God.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Zakariyah. One of the earliest was Zakariyah al-Razi (865-925 CE), a Persian polymath and philosopher who made significant contributions to the fields of medicine, chemistry, and physics. His works influenced the development of science in the Islamic world and beyond.
Another prominent figure was Zakariyah al-Ansari (1420-1520 CE), a renowned Sufi scholar and mystic from Yemen. His teachings and writings on spirituality and mysticism had a profound impact on the Sufi tradition and are still studied today.
In the 16th century, Zakariyah al-Qazwini (1514-1585 CE) was a prominent Arab geographer and historian who authored the influential work "Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-'Ibad" (Monuments of the Lands and Histories of the Servants), which provided detailed accounts of various regions and their inhabitants.
During the 19th century, Zakariyah ibn Muhammad al-Ansari (1834-1920 CE) was a prominent Islamic scholar and reformer from Yemen. He played a crucial role in reviving and promoting Islamic education in the region and advocated for social and religious reforms.
Another notable figure was Zakariyah Nur al-Din (1822-1896 CE), a Kurdish scholar and poet who contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of Kurdish literature and culture.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Zakariyah, reflecting its rich cultural and religious heritage across various regions and time periods.
People
Zakariyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zakariyah 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
Zakariyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zakariyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 165 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zakariyah 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 2,077,299 US residents.
Is Zakariyah a common name?
We classify Zakariyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 166 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zakariyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Zakariyah was 2012, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zakariyah is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zakariyah a male name?
Yes, 88.6% of people registered as Zakariyah 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.