Fun Facts About the Name Zakai
- More than 4 thousand babies named Zakai: U.S. records list 4,066 babies given the name Zakai from 1880 through 2025. Even 18 girls received the name Zakai - about 1 girl for every 225 boys.
What Does the Name Zakai Mean?
Zakai is a Hebrew name meaning "pure" or "innocent." It comes from the Hebrew Zakkai (זַכַּי), which is formed on the root z-k-h (זָכָה), meaning "to be clean, pure, or innocent." The closely related adjective zakh (זַך) means "pure" or "clear." The name is sometimes spelled Zaccai in English Bibles. It is not related to the similar-sounding Zachary or Zechariah, which come from a different Hebrew root, z-k-r, meaning "to remember."
Zakai Name History & Origins
In the Hebrew Bible, Zakkai appears as an ancestral or clan name. The book of Ezra (2:9) lists 760 "children of Zakkai" among the exiles returning from Babylon, and Nehemiah (7:14) records the same family in its parallel list. In these passages the name identifies a family group, not an individual.
By the first century CE the name was in use as a personal name. Its best-known bearer is Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, a leading Jewish sage who, according to rabbinic tradition, reestablished his academy at Yavneh after the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE. There Zakkai is the father's name, so the sage is "Yochanan son of Zakkai." The Greek form of the name appears in the New Testament as Zacchaeus (Greek Zakchaios), the chief tax collector of Jericho in the Gospel of Luke.
The name has continued in Jewish use and, more recently, appears as a given name in English-speaking countries in the spellings Zakai, Zakkai, and Zakay.
How Popular is the Name Zakai?
Zakai recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2025. Its best rank was #563 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | #13,413 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2021 | #15,194 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #19,473 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #563 | 528 | 0.0309% |
| 2024 | #603 | 472 | 0.0275% |
| 2023 | #662 | 414 | 0.0242% |
| 2022 | #707 | 373 | 0.0214% |
| 2021 | #786 | 313 | 0.0179% |
| 2020 | #904 | 249 | 0.0144% |
| 2019 | #904 | 244 | 0.0136% |
| 2018 | #897 | 242 | 0.0133% |
| 2017 | #1,072 | 185 | 0.0100% |
| 2016 | #1,287 | 142 | 0.0075% |
| 2015 | #1,566 | 104 | 0.0054% |
| 2014 | #1,793 | 84 | 0.0044% |
| 2013 | #1,622 | 95 | 0.0050% |
| 2012 | #1,710 | 89 | 0.0047% |
| 2011 | #2,103 | 64 | 0.0034% |
| 2010 | #2,168 | 62 | 0.0032% |
| 2009 | #2,202 | 61 | 0.0031% |
| 2008 | #2,514 | 51 | 0.0025% |
| 2007 | #2,212 | 61 | 0.0029% |
| 2006 | #2,061 | 65 | 0.0032% |
| 2005 | #2,612 | 43 | 0.0022% |
| 2004 | #2,884 | 36 | 0.0018% |
| 2003 | #4,112 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2002 | #7,631 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #4,670 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2000 | #7,407 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1999 | #7,129 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #9,620 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Zakai Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have aspiration and inspiration, hope and guidance. Since you are intuitive and perceptive and you understand human nature. You have the power to achieve. Diplomacy and discretion make you a good mediator. You are inspired, introspective, and have a good understanding of the human heart. You can have the ability to commercialize your artistic talents successfully. You are often a mystery to others and to yourself. You are always reaching for something higher, without exactly knowing what that "higher" is. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Zakai's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Zakai's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.