Zackery

Zackery is a modernized respelling of Zachary. Zachary, in turn, is an English variant form of the Biblical Zechariah, a minor prophet who is credited as the author of the Old Testament’s Book of Zechariah (please see the name Zechariah for more detail). Ultimately the name is derived from the Hebrew “Zekharyah” (זְכַרְיָה) meaning "God has remembered" (apropos because Zechariah’s message to the Israelites is one of God’s rememberence). There is also a prominent Zechariah in the New Testament; named in the Gospel according to Luke as the husband of Elizabeth and father of John the Baptist. The angle Gabriel was sent from heaven to inform Zechariah that God planned to give him and Elizabeth a son. And not just any son. Their son (i.e., John the Baptist) will prepare the way for the Messiah. Given the fact that Elizabeth was well past child-bearing age, Zechariah basically told Gabriel that he didn’t believe him. Big faux pas. As punishment for his doubt in the Lord, Gabriel struck Zechariah “dumb” (i.e., mute); however, after the baby John was born, his speech was restored to him. Any relevant remarks he may have made are lost to history. Zechariah was obviously forgiven for his blunder because he was named a saint and his feast day is celebrated on November 15th. We guess it’s safe to say that God “remembered” Zechariah despite the man’s momentary skepticism over the Lord’s omnipotence. The typical Biblical Hebrew form of this name is Zechariah, while in Biblical Greek or Latin it’s usually spelled Zacharias. Zachary became the English form popularized by the Puritans after the Reformation. In more modern times, Zackary and Zackery followed as variant spellings, perhaps meant to appear more phonetically comfortable.