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Zaki

Masculine · “pure”

1974high 2008
#2390 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare57 boys in 2025

Zaki is pure in Arabic — and the same root gives zakat, the obligatory alms, because giving purifies wealth.

How old is the name Zaki?

Zaki first appears in US birth records in 1974 — 51 years ago. The typical Zaki alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 1,500 people named Zaki are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Zaki most popular?

Zaki peaked in 2008, reaching #2161 nationally. Today it ranks #2390, 229 places below that high. See the whole 2008 chart.

Compare this nameMore “Z” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Zaki

Zakat is one of the five pillars, and the word means purification: giving a portion is what makes the rest lawful. Zaki comes from the same root. Zaki Naguib Mahmoud was a major Egyptian philosopher. The name is standard across Arabic naming and is in current American use.

Meaning

pure, virtuous

From the Arabic zaki, 'pure' or 'righteous', from the root z-k-w, which also gives zakat, the alms tax — understood as purifying what remains. The Hebrew zakah, 'to be clean', is a cognate. The Arabic is documented.

How the name formed

  1. z-k-w
  2. zaki
  3. Zaki

Related forms: زكي · Zaki · Zeki

Pronouncing Zaki

ZAH-kee

Two syllables, stress on the first. Turkish Zeki has a fronted first vowel.

Nicknames for Zaki

Moderate

ZakThe front clipping, and a short form with a large record
ZakiaThe feminine form, and a name in its own right in Arabic
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

BOYS NAMED · 1974–202562310625719742025

US babies named Zaki per year from 1974 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#21611970s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1974
Most boys named
200862 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#2161reached in 2008
Change vs 2024
+1.8%57 in 2025, from 56
Zaki sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 2008, with 62 boys. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

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.

Zaki in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • زكي in Arabic — transliteration
  • Zaki in Urdu — same name
  • Zeki in Turkish — related form

Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.

Zakis among us

1,500

people named Zaki are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 boy in 29,966 born in 2025 was named Zaki

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

Spellings of Zaki

#2390
Zaki on the 2025 chart
#844
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Zaki went to 57 boys in 2025, but Zakhi and Zaky are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 84, which makes it the 844th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,546 places above the chart.

  • Zaki57
  • Zakhi22
  • Zaky5

About 1 boy in 20,334 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 29,966 for Zaki 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

III

Is it right for you

The Raffi test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zaki's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Raffi climbed just as high around 1986, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Raffi's path sketches the road Zaki is walking now.

40%chance Zaki will feel “very 2020s” by 2040
Zaki, aligned on its peakRaffi· peak 1986not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-30 yrs+40 yrsRaffi · #6418Zaki today
Zaki today is about where Raffi stood in 2003 — 17 years past a #2161-sized peak. By 2018, Raffi had settled around #6362.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Zaki 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

Where Zaki is headed

19742030

US babies named Zaki per year, 1974 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Zaki should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.

Steady+9% by 2030projected around #2,380 in 2030

Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.

A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.

Zaki beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Zaki in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Zakithis name57#2390Quest57#2390Jovanny57#2390Ameen57#2390Devante57#2390

US boys given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • That zakat means purification of what remains is a first-rate idea.
  • Zak is available as a short form with a large record.
  • Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
What to consider
  • Zaki and Zaki-derived surnames are widespread and may confuse.
  • It reads as specifically Muslim.
  • The Turkish Zeki is a related form spelled differently.

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Zaki

Masculine · #2390 in the U.S.

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Frequently asked

How many Zakis are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Zaki are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Zaki?
Zaki is the most-used spelling in US records — 57 of the 84 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Zakhi and Zaky.
How popular is the name Zaki in 2025?
Zaki ranks #2390 among US boy names in 2025, with 57 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Zaki?
About 1 in every 29,966 US boys born in 2025 was named Zaki — 57 in all.
Will my child share the name Zaki with classmates?
Zaki will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Zaki

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Quest#2390 · Jovanny#2390 · Ameen#2390 · Devante#2390 · Austyn#2390 · Deklan#2390 · Erwin#2390 · Blaize#2390

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zaki? See the current top 100.

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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