Zak
Masculine · “the Lord has remembered”
Remembering is one of the most loaded verbs in the Hebrew Bible. When God remembers Noah the flood recedes, when God remembers the covenant the exodus begins; remembering is an act rather than a state. Zechariah, the name behind Zak, means the Lord has remembered.
How old is the name Zak?
Zak first appears in US birth records in 1965 — 60 years ago. The typical Zak alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 1,600 people named Zak are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zak most popular?
Zak peaked in 1988, reaching #1909 nationally. Today it ranks #6803, 4,894 places below that high. See the whole 1988 chart.
Where it comes from
From Zekharyah to Zak
The story of Zak
Zechariah is one of the twelve minor prophets and also the name of the father of John the Baptist, struck dumb until the child is born and named. English took the name from both, giving Zachary and Zachariah, and it became genuinely popular in the United States and Britain from the 1970s onward. The clipped forms followed, and the k spelling is much more common in Britain than in America, where Zach and Zack dominate. Zak's best year in United States records is 1988, and it reads as slightly British to American ears for that reason.
Meaning
the Lord has remembered
Hebrew Zekharyah, from zakhar, to remember, and yah, the shortened divine name. It is a sentence name of the standard type. Zachary is the English form of Zechariah; Zach and Zak are its clips, and the k spelling writes the sound that the ch of the full name represents.
How the name formed
- Zekharyah
- Zacharias
- Zachary
- Zak
Related forms: Zach · Zack · Zecharya
Pronouncing Zak
ZAK
One syllable, rhyming with back. All the spellings of the clip are identical aloud.
Nicknames for Zak
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1965
- Most boys named
- 200450 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1909reached in 1988
- Change vs 2024
- −42.9%12 in 2025, from 21
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Zak in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zach in English — spelling variant
- Zack in English — spelling variant
- Zecharya in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, New York.
Zaks among us
people named Zak are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 142,340 born in 2025 was named Zak
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Zak
- #6803
- Zak on the 2025 chart
- #754
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Zak went to 12 boys in 2025, but Zack and Zac are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 175, which makes it the 754th most-given boys’ name of the year — 6,049 places above the chart.
About 1 boy in 9,760 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 142,340 for Zak itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Vinnie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zak's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Vinnie climbed just as high around 1960, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Vinnie's path sketches the road Zak is walking now.
Zak sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Zak beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zak in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Hebrew meaning with real theological weight behind it.
- One syllable and three letters, impossible to mispronounce.
- Zachary is available as a formal long form.
- Zach and Zack are both more common American spellings.
- It reads as a short form, so people will ask for the full name.
- The k spelling is more British than American.
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What they receive
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Zak
Masculine · #6803 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zaks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Zak are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Zak?
- Zak is one of 3 recorded spellings. Zack is the more common one — 126 births in 2025 against 12 for Zak.
- How popular is the name Zak in 2025?
- Zak ranks #6803 among US boy names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zak?
- About 1 in every 142,340 US boys born in 2025 was named Zak — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zak with classmates?
- Zak will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zak
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zeb#6803 · Buster#6803 · Fabien#6803 · Eston#6803 · Tyjuan#6803 · Fuad#6803 · Aaiden#6803 · Sanford#6803
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zak? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zak and another name?
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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