Zadkiel

Meaning of Zadkiel

Zadkiel (American English /ˈzædki.əl/, Hebrew /zaʔd.ki.ˈel/) unfolds as a theophoric masterpiece, its Hebrew roots—צָדִיק (tzadik, “righteous one”) and אֵל (el, “God”)—weaving together into “the righteousness of God.” In angelological lore, this name graces the Archangel of Mercy, a celestial custodian whose compassion tempers divine justice much like soft Latin hymns temper austere liturgies. Though academically steeped in Judaic tradition, Zadkiel carries a warmth befitting a modern child, its resonance both erudite and tender. In the United States, it has hovered in the 800–900 popularity bracket for over a decade—most recently ranking 872nd in 2024 with fifty-two newborns—an incidence that ensures its bearer an air of rarity without courting obsolescence. With its complex consonant cadence and gentle vowel arch, Zadkiel presents parents a choice at once scholarly and soulful, a name that will neither vanish into anonymity nor clamor for undue attention—qualities as precious as the mercy its angelic namesake dispenses.