Zakhary
A masculine given name of Greek origin meaning "the Lord remembers".
Name Census estimates that about 30 living Americans carry the first name Zakhary. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zakhary today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zakhary births was 1992 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zakhary. 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 Zakhary with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Zakhary. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
30
~ 1 in 11,425,145 Americans
Peak year
1992
7 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2011 SSA rank
#10,776
Tracked since 1992
Popularity
Zakhary: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zakhary from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Zakhary remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zakhary 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 Zakhary 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 Zakhary
The given name Zakhary has its origins in the ancient Hebrew language, tracing back to biblical times. It is derived from the Hebrew name Zekharyah, which means "the Lord has remembered" or "the Lord remembers." This name finds its roots in the Old Testament, where it was borne by the prophet Zechariah, one of the twelve minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible.
In the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah, Zechariah is mentioned as a priest who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE. The name gained significance in Jewish tradition, and its variants were adopted by various cultures and languages over the centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zakhary can be found in the writings of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who lived in the 1st century CE. He mentions a Zakhary, a high priest in the Jerusalem Temple during the Roman period.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Zakhary. One of the most famous was Zakhary of Kakheti (1450-1510), a Georgian prince and military leader who played a crucial role in defending his homeland against Ottoman invasions.
Another prominent figure was Zacharias Ursinus (1534-1583), a German Protestant theologian and one of the authors of the Heidelberg Catechism, a renowned text in Reformed theology.
In the realm of literature, Zakhary Tsereteli (1834-1892) was a celebrated Georgian poet and playwright, known for his contributions to the development of the Georgian national theater.
The name also found its way into the world of art, with Zakhary Levitin (1899-1986), a Russian-American painter and graphic artist renowned for his depictions of urban landscapes and cityscapes.
Lastly, in the field of science, Zakhary Nussinov (1928-2019) was a prominent American physicist and professor at the University of Washington, known for his contributions to the study of condensed matter physics.
These examples illustrate the widespread use and significance of the name Zakhary throughout various cultures and eras, reflecting its ancient Hebrew roots and the diverse individuals who have carried this name across history.
People
Zakhary + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zakhary 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
Zakhary: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zakhary?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zakhary 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 11,425,145 US residents.
Is Zakhary a common name?
We classify Zakhary as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zakhary most popular?
The single biggest year for Zakhary was 1992, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zakhary is about 26 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 Zakhary in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zakhary a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zakhary 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 Zakhary still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zakhary 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 Zakhary 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 have Zakhary as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.