Given name & surname · also Gaelic
Zachary
“The Lord remembers”·“God is remembered”
Zachary is a form of Zachariah. One Hebrew interpretation is “The Lord remembers.” In French use, Zachary has a related form in Zacharie. One Hebrew interpretation is “God is remembered.”
Original Hebrewזכריה
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Hebrew use, Zachary carries the interpretation “The Lord remembers.” Zachary is a form of Zachariah. One Hebrew interpretation is “The Lord remembers.” In French use, Zachary has a related form in Zacharie. One Hebrew interpretation is “God is remembered.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
Zachary is used as a form of Zachariah.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1900. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Zachary through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 553,281
- 551,752 boys · 1,529 girls
- Most popular year
- 1993
- 25,591 babies
- 2025
- 1,646
- #216 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −41%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,646 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 216 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 41.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 25,538 in 1993. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (215). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 435,262 as a first name in 2020; 5,935 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Zachary’s family of names
In English usage, Zachary has a diminutive in Zach. In English usage, Zachary shares an earlier linguistic root with Zachariah. In English usage, Zachary has a related form in Zachery.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Zachary has relatives in 31 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
Hebrewwhere Zachary comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 23
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Zachariahvariant · English
- Zechariahvariant · English
- Zakarivariant
- Zackdiminutive · French, English
- Zackaryvariant · English
- Zachdiminutive · English
- Zacheryvariant · English
- Zacdiminutive · English
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Zackeryvariant · English
- Zachariasvariant · English, German
- Zakaryvariant
- Zakdiminutive · English
- Zacharievariant · French
- Zacharrylikely variant
- Zaccharylikely variant
- Zachryvariant · English
- Zakeryvariant
- Zakarievariant
- Zackareyvariant
- Zaccaryvariant
- Zacharyelikely variant
- Zaqdiminutive · English
- Zacceryvariant
Across languages 49
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- זכריהHebrew
- Zakariyadoublet · English
- ZakariaSwahili
- Zahariequivalent
- Sakaricognate · Finnish
- ZacariasPortuguese
- Zachariaequivalent
- Zakhardoublet · English
Show 41 moreShow fewer
- Zachariequivalent
- ZahariaRomanian
- ZakariasDanish, Swedish
- Zakharydoublet · English
- ZakhariaIndonesian
- ZaccariaItalian
- Zekeriaequivalent
- Захариequivalent
- Sachariasequivalent
- Zakaríaequivalent
- Sakaríasequivalent
- Закариёequivalent
- ꓢ-ꓚꓬ-ꓡꓲ-ꓬequivalent
- Zakarioequivalent
- Zacharijasequivalent
- Захарequivalent
- زكرياequivalent
- Зараcognate · Bulgarian
- ZacaríasSpanish
- Jakariyadoublet · English
- SecharjaGerman
- Xakeryrelated form
- Thackaryrelated form
- ZakaríasIcelandic
- SakarisFaroese
- ЗәкарияKazakh
- Zachariaszalso known as · Polish
- ЗахарійUkrainian
- ЗәкәрияKazakh
- ZakariásHungarian
- ZachariášCzech, Slovak
- KakaliaHawaiian
- ZekeriyaTurkish
- ԶաքարիաArmenian
- SechareiaWelsh
- ⲍⲁⲭⲁⲣⲓⲁⲥonw
- SakkaGreenlandic
- ΖαχαρίαςGreek
- Sgàiresee also · Scottish Gaelic
- SakariasSwedish
- Sachairicognate
People named Zachary
- Zachary Taylorpresident of the United States from 1849 to 18501784–1850
- Zac EfronAmerican actor and singer (born 1987)
- Zack SnyderAmerican filmmaker (born 1966)
- Zachary QuintoAmerican actor and film producerborn 1977
- Zach GalifianakisAmerican actor and comedian (born 1969)
- Zachary LeviAmerican actor (born 1980)
- Zach LaVineAmerican basketball player (born 1995)
- Zach KingAmerican filmmaker, voice actor and Internet personalityborn 1990
- Zachary GordonAmerican actor (born 1998)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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