<p>1:59 <i>And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child, and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father</i>- 'John' means 'Yahweh's grace / favour'; &quot;Zacharias&quot; means 'Yahweh has remembered'. God did indeed remember the prayers of Zacharias; and 'remembering' when used about God is a Hebrew idiom used about God answering prayer. But Zacharias had not lived up to his name. Instead the prayer was heard by grace, and righteousness was imputed to Zacharias, as noted on :6. It was therefore appropriate that there should be a break with tradition, and the child named 'John' rather than 'Zacharias'.</p>