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Zachary
Zachary has been growing on me lately, but I have some hang-ups about it, so just looking for your thoughts.(1) People think it's wacky. It isn't established in Scotland at all, and when a name is unfamiliar and starts with a Z, people tend to think you're being "different" in an irritating way. In first year at uni I was friends with a (Canadian) Zack. Most people's reaction was, "Jack? Oh ... Zack ... right." Dunno if I could be bothered with that.(2) Zack. I hate, hate, hate Zack. That's a big problem, right? I'm sure everyone would shorten it!On a completely unrelated note, I met my first (British) female Kyle today. She's 18 and comes from a very traditional fishing town in Fife. So goodness knows where her parents got the idea from :-)
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If I were in your position, I would probably like it, too, but I live in the U.S. where it has been terribly overused. I have worked in schools and daycares for over the last 10 years and I've had over my fair share of boys named Zachary/Zachery/Zackary/Zak, etc. Yikes. I don't mind Zachariah, but I'm with you on the "Zach" thing. Eck. But if you hate Zach, I'd advise against using Zachary. There are several names I love that I hate the obvious nn for, and so I've steered away from ever using them for that reason. :(
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I LOVE the name Zachary!
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Here I go repeating myself again, gag me.
I like Zack, I really do, more than the actual name Zachary.
BUT if I were to name a boy Zachary I would probably call him Zooey. I know I know, most parents wouldn't dream of it since Zoe has been SO popular for girls, but I first came across Zooey in the JD Salinger story "Franny & Zooey" and there Zooey is a boy, and it is a NN for Zachary.I fully understand your hesitations though, different in an irritating way, the "oh... Zack..right". This is a big headache for me with trying to find a good balance between English and Swedish names. After all one doesn't want the name to become a constant issue.
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Would it make a difference if it was spelled Zach instead of Zack...? for some reason with me it does... Zack reminds me of Yack...???In college I was aquantances with a outsidely popular, very easy-going boy named Zachary - he wore eyeliner and was a bit of a trouble maker, but a nice one at that. Anyway, he always called himself Zachary, never Zach but most people ended up calling him Zach.
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I like Zachary but hate Zack. I prefer Zachariah anyway but that is just as likely to get shortened, and I think everyone would shorten both names.
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That could be a problem because a lot of people might naturally shorten it and call him Zack. D :
Maybe a name like Zachariah, which is similar to Zachary, would be less likely to be shortened.
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I do love Zachariah. It's so cool sounding. It's seriously Old-Testament in a country where even Zachary is out there, though. I'd love to use either as a middle name at any rate. Thanks for the input :-)
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I really like Zachary. I would never have thought that people'd think it was "wacky." As for Zach, just call him Zachary :)If it'd really bother you (and I don't see why it would), don't use Zachary. He might decide he likes to be called Zack.
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I think you're rightI shouldn't use Zachary since I'm so opposed to Zack. It's a bit like Joshua and Josh - it's such a natural transition for people. I won't lose any sleep over it, of course, it since I don't plan on having kids anytime soon :-)

This message was edited 1/11/2007, 4:18 PM

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I like Zachary a lot, and yes, I like it much better than the nn Zack.
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My cousin's name is Zachary, and I like it, and yes, everyone calls him Zach, which I'm not fond of (but it's better than any form of his first name, Frederick)...I've been condtioned, so I can't think of any other nn for Zachary...
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