Zarek
Masculine · “the Lord has remembered”
Zarek is read as a Polish form of Zachariah — the Lord has remembered — though the connection is claimed more often than it is documented.
How old is the name Zarek?
Zarek first appears in US birth records in 1989 — 36 years ago. The typical Zarek alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 1,100 people named Zarek are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zarek most popular?
Zarek peaked in 2025, reaching #1852 nationally. Today it ranks #1852, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Zekharyah to Zarek
Our story of Zarek
Our story of Zarek is a story of a claimed ancestry. Naming books give it as Polish for Zachariah, and the sound is close enough that the claim survives repetition. Polish records themselves do not show it. Meanwhile the Z front had become one of the busiest in American naming by the 1990s — Zander, Zayden, Zarek. The Hebrew statement behind Zachariah is real and undisputed; whether this name descends from it is not, and the honest thing is to say both.
Meaningscholars disagree
the Lord has remembered
Usually given as a Polish short form of Zachariasz, from the Hebrew Zekharyah — zakhar, 'he remembered', and Yah, the divine name. The Polish connection is widely repeated in naming books but is not well attested in Polish records. It may be a modern American coinage on the Z front.
How the name formed
- Zekharyah
- Zarek
Related forms: Zachariasz · Zarrek · Zachariah
Pronouncing Zarek
ZAIR-ek
Two syllables, stress on the first. Some bearers say zuh-REK with the stress at the end.
Nicknames for Zarek
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
- 1989
- Most boys named
- 202585 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1852reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +214.8%85 in 2025, from 27
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.
Zarek in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zachariasz in Polish — related form
- Zarrek in English — spelling variant
- Zachariah in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Zareks among us
people named Zarek are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 20,095 born in 2025 was named Zarek
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Sanchez test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zarek's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sanchez climbed just as high around 1980, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sanchez's path sketches the road Zarek is walking now.
Zarek is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Zarek is headed
Zarek should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Zarek beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zarek in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The Zachariah route offers a complete statement where it holds.
- Two clean syllables with no real pronunciation risk.
- It is genuinely rare and immediately distinctive.
- The Polish attribution is widely repeated but poorly attested.
- The stress placement splits between two readings.
- It will need spelling out every time.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Zarek
Masculine · #1852 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zareks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Zarek are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zarek in 2025?
- Zarek ranks #1852 among US boy names in 2025, with 85 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zarek?
- About 1 in every 20,095 US boys born in 2025 was named Zarek — 85 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zarek with classmates?
- Zarek will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zarek
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aston#1852 · Loki#1852 · Sammy#1852 · Kyrin#1852 · Reggie#1852 · Richie#1852 · Riyan#1852 · Orin#1852
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zarek? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zarek and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
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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