Today, every Zachary, Zachariah and Zacharias you know shares a name day with the Greek name Zacharias. It is the kind of Greek tradition that travels easily across Montreal, from a cousin called Zacharias at home to a classmate named Zachary at school or the co-worker everyone simply calls Zack.
Zacharias comes into Greek through the biblical Hebrew name Zechariah, from Zekharyah, meaning “Yahweh has remembered.” The name passed through Greek as Ζαχαρίας, then into Latin as Zacharias, which helped shape later English forms such as Zachary and Zachariah, as well as French Zacharie and other European variants. It is an old name with a long journey, one that links Greek usage naturally with names heard every day in Canada.
In the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, a person’s name day is the feast day of the saint after whom they were named at baptism.
There is something memorable and enduring about this name, and it suits the people who carry it so differently. It might be the papou Zacharias whose stories never lose a detail, the neighbour Zachary who always remembers to check in after a storm, or the university friend everyone knows as Zack, steady and impossible to forget once he is in your circle. In Greek families too, the warmer forms like Zaharis or Zakis often carry that same familiar closeness.
Chronia Polla! to everyone celebrating today, in Greek and non-Greek circles alike. If you know a Zacharias, Zachary, Zachariah or Zack, today is a lovely day to send a quick message, say happy name day, and share a small piece of Greek tradition with someone who may not even know the celebration is theirs too.
