Zachary
Zachary was given to 1,646 boys in 2025, #216 among boys’ names; 553,281 Americans have been recorded with it since 1900 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 533,000 Americans named Zachary and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (96% of everyone recorded); the median is 30 years old and half are between 23 and 36.
Zachary is the #48 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Zachary by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Zachary mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Zachary is “a male given name from Hebrew.” Its etymology gives the sense “Yahweh has remembered” (זְכַרְיָה).
From clipped forms of Zachariah and Zacharias + -y, from Hebrew זְכַרְיָה (Zəḵaryā, “Yahweh has remembered”) via Latin Zacharias and Koine Greek Ζαχαρίας (Zakharías). As an American city, named after the farmer Darel Zachary who sold the land for a local depot on the Illinois Central Railroad in the 1880s. Doublet of Zach, Zacharias, Zachariah, Zechariah, Zakariya, and Jakariya.
/ˈzækəɹi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Zachary?
#216 among boys’ names, 2025
Zachary fell from #88 in 2015 to #216 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 2.5 to 1.0 per 1,000.
25,591 babies in 1993, the peak
Zachary peaked in 1993, when 25,591 babies were given it (25,538 boys, #15 among boys’ names). The 1,646 births of 2025 are 6% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,646 | #216 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | 1,844 | #194 | 1.1 |
| 2023 | 2,128 | #171 | 1.2 |
| 2022 | 2,263 | #165 | 1.3 |
| 2021 | 2,598 | #144 | 1.5 |
| 2020 | 2,729 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 2019 | 3,084 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 2018 | 3,577 | #107 | 2.0 |
| 2017 | 3,822 | #103 | 2.1 |
| 2016 | 4,576 | #89 | 2.4 |
Every recorded year (115)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 4,866 | #88 | 2.5 |
| 2014 | 5,188 | #82 | 2.7 |
| 2013 | 5,775 | #73 | 3.1 |
| 2012 | 6,263 | #67 | 3.3 |
| 2011 | 6,811 | #64 | 3.6 |
| 2010 | 7,184 | #61 | 3.7 |
| 2009 | 8,091 | #53 | 4.1 |
| 2008 | 9,235 | #47 | 4.5 |
| 2007 | 10,217 | #42 | 4.9 |
| 2006 | 11,013 | #33 | 5.4 |
| 2005 | 12,288 | #29 | 6.2 |
| 2004 | 13,712 | #26 | 6.9 |
| 2003 | 15,541 | #20 | 7.9 |
| 2002 | 16,622 | #19 | 8.6 |
| 2001 | 18,185 | #16 | 9.4 |
| 2000 | 19,852 | #15 | 10.1 |
| 1999 | 19,985 | #17 | 10.4 |
| 1998 | 20,580 | #16 | 10.8 |
| 1997 | 21,929 | #13 | 11.6 |
| 1996 | 22,369 | #14 | 11.8 |
| 1995 | 23,131 | #14 | 12.2 |
| 1994 | 25,139 | #12 | 13.0 |
| 1993 | 25,538 | #15 | 13.0 |
| 1992 | 24,802 | #16 | 12.4 |
| 1991 | 21,387 | #22 | 10.6 |
| 1990 | 20,430 | #22 | 9.9 |
| 1989 | 18,077 | #25 | 9.0 |
| 1988 | 15,870 | #29 | 8.3 |
| 1987 | 13,201 | #33 | 7.1 |
| 1986 | 11,725 | #38 | 6.4 |
| 1985 | 11,346 | #39 | 6.1 |
| 1984 | 9,065 | #45 | 5.0 |
| 1983 | 7,309 | #50 | 4.1 |
| 1982 | 6,139 | #55 | 3.4 |
| 1981 | 4,841 | #63 | 2.7 |
| 1980 | 4,245 | #72 | 2.4 |
| 1979 | 4,156 | #74 | 2.4 |
| 1978 | 3,127 | #89 | 1.9 |
| 1977 | 2,777 | #95 | 1.7 |
| 1976 | 2,644 | #97 | 1.7 |
| 1975 | 1,688 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1974 | 1,274 | #179 | 0.81 |
| 1973 | 1,135 | #197 | 0.73 |
| 1972 | 1,001 | #221 | 0.62 |
| 1971 | 701 | #289 | 0.40 |
| 1970 | 557 | #342 | 0.30 |
| 1969 | 418 | #383 | 0.23 |
| 1968 | 340 | #416 | 0.20 |
| 1967 | 363 | #402 | 0.21 |
| 1966 | 329 | #420 | 0.18 |
| 1965 | 313 | #436 | 0.17 |
| 1964 | 333 | #440 | 0.17 |
| 1963 | 326 | #440 | 0.16 |
| 1962 | 339 | #434 | 0.16 |
| 1961 | 369 | #414 | 0.17 |
| 1960 | 346 | #432 | 0.16 |
| 1959 | 262 | #485 | 0.12 |
| 1958 | 236 | #502 | 0.11 |
| 1957 | 289 | #453 | 0.13 |
| 1956 | 270 | #460 | 0.13 |
| 1955 | 280 | #443 | 0.14 |
| 1954 | 200 | #514 | 0.10 |
| 1953 | 161 | #562 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 171 | #538 | 0.09 |
| 1951 | 151 | #557 | 0.08 |
| 1950 | 149 | #553 | 0.08 |
| 1949 | 107 | #667 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 91 | #703 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 70 | #834 | 0.04 |
| 1946 | 49 | #966 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 19 | #1,579 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 10 | #2,465 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 14 | #2,071 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 15 | #1,945 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 9 | #2,654 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 20 | #1,572 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 15 | #1,878 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 15 | #1,899 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 18 | #1,687 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 9 | #2,626 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 13 | #2,125 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 11 | #2,392 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 14 | #1,995 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 17 | #1,847 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 14 | #2,100 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 16 | #1,963 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 19 | #1,792 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 14 | #2,268 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 13 | #2,406 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 22 | #1,659 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 21 | #1,743 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 13 | #2,472 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 20 | #1,812 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 11 | #2,797 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 19 | #1,901 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 16 | #2,128 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 20 | #1,750 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 11 | #2,696 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 10 | #2,727 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 17 | #1,847 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 14 | #2,067 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 11 | #2,099 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 18 | #1,254 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 8 | #2,043 | 0.02 |
| 1900 | 6 | #1,308 | 0.04 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Zachary a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Zachary has been given almost only to boys: 1,529 girls in 115 years of records.
Girls and boys named Zachary: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Zachary, and how old are they?
533,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 96% of the 553,281 Americans ever recorded as Zachary. The median Zachary alive today is 30 years old; half are between 23 and 36.
The 2020 Census counted 435,262 people named Zachary (637 women and girls, 434,625 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 526,474 born in the U.S. The Census count is 17% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 50 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,950 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 22,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 250,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 214,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 43,800 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Zachary born?
The states with the most babies named Zachary are California, Texas and New York, with 32% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 215 | #184 | 0.6× |
| Texas | 153 | #259 | 0.8× |
| New York | 147 | #128 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 99 | #217 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 89 | #145 | 1.3× |
| New Jersey | 77 | #126 | 0.8× |
| Massachusetts | 54 | #134 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 52 | #229 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 46 | #273 | 1.3× |
| Georgia | 45 | #278 | 0.9× |
Where Zachary is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Zachary is most over-represented in Indiana: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Zachary with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 648,938 babies since 1880, Zachary is the most given (85% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,646 of their 2,383 babies (69%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Zachary
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Zachary and names like it
- Compare Zachary and ZackaryBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sZachary peaked in 1993.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Zachary since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Zachary: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1993The year the most babies were named Zachary.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Zachary alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with ZMost given first.