 The Archangel Gabriel appeared to him and announced that he and his wife would give birth to a child, and that they should name him John, a name which was unfamiliar in Zechariah and Elizabeth's families.refers to a "John" (or "Jonathan", a name combining "John" with "Nathan" such that the "n" at the end of "John" is also used as the first "n" in "Nathan") among the high priests who challenged the apostles' preaching after Pentecost, so the name was not unknown within the wider priestly family.However, because Zechariah did not believe the message of Gabriel, he was rendered speechless until the time of John's birth.