Zakkai
Yohanan ben Zakkai, sometimes abbreviated as ריב״ז ribaz for Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, was a tanna, an important Jewish sage during the late Second Temple period during the transformative post-destruction era. He was a primary contributor to the core text of Rabbinic Judaism, the Mishnah. His name is often preceded by the honorific title Rabban.
Meaning & Origin of Zakkai
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Yohanan ben Zakkai, sometimes abbreviated as ריב״ז ribaz for Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, was a tanna, an important Jewish sage during the late Second Temple period during the transformative post-destruction era. He was a primary contributor to the core text of Rabbinic Judaism, the Mishnah. His name is often preceded by the honorific title Rabban.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Zakkai
Zakkai first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 2003, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2022, when 17 Zakkais were born — ranking #5,443 that year. As of 2026, Zakkai ranks #5,594 for baby boys with 17 births, rising sharply (+108% over the past five years). In total, more than 146 Zakkais have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 2000s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Zakkai
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Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Zakkai
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About the name Zakkai
Zakkai is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 2003 and has accumulated 146 births in the dataset. Zakkai's peak popularity came in 2022 when it ranked #5,443. Use the chart and map above to compare Zakkai's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
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Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.