boys' name ★ peaked 2021

Judah

Meaning Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה (yehudá) Gender Boy · 2% girls Rank 2025 #178 Trend → Stable

Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה (yehudá).

Rank 2025
#178
among boys · unchanged vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,091
named Judah · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 833
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2021
2,178 babies
All-time total
36,431
#612 all-time among boys
First recorded
1912
in Social Security records

Judah popularity over time

36,431 babies have been named Judah since 1912, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 23 23 2 – #2,728
1920s – 59 59 6 +157% #2,393
1930s – 44 44 4 -25% #2,478
1940s – 32 32 3 -27% #2,657
1950s – 78 78 8 +144% #2,261
1960s – 107 107 11 +37% #2,007
1970s – 349 349 35 +226% #1,193
1980s 5 504 509 51 +46% #1,193
1990s 61 976 1,037 104 +104% #904
2000s 192 4,916 5,108 511 +393% #323
2010s 329 15,907 16,236 1,624 +218% #189
2020s (to 2025) 266 12,583 12,849 2,142 +32% #176

Where Judah is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 2,066 1.21 #174
2027 2,080 1.22 #173
2028 2,092 1.22 #173
2029 2,102 1.23 #173
2030 2,111 1.24 #173

Where Judah is most popular

Boys named Judah per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.21 per 1,000. Strongest in Hawaii, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Judah born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Hawaii 49 3.16 +160%
Tennessee 459 2.54 +110%
Oklahoma 217 2.45 +102%
Arkansas 141 2.23 +84%
New Mexico 67 2.03 +68%
Kansas 139 2.03 +67%
South Carolina 201 1.95 +60%
South Dakota 35 1.88 +55%
Missouri 259 1.87 +54%
Colorado 240 1.86 +53%
Alabama 202 1.85 +52%
Indiana 295 1.84 +52%
Virginia 346 1.82 +50%
North Carolina 457 1.79 +48%
Idaho 73 1.78 +47%
West Virginia 58 1.78 +46%
Georgia 449 1.77 +46%
Oregon 132 1.74 +43%
Mississippi 98 1.72 +42%
Washington 282 1.72 +42%
Iowa 118 1.71 +41%
Montana 30 1.70 +40%
Ohio 450 1.70 +40%
Nebraska 73 1.68 +38%
District of Columbia 24 1.63 +34%
Louisiana 164 1.60 +32%
Kentucky 153 1.52 +26%
Delaware 23 1.52 +25%
Alaska 18 1.51 +25%
Michigan 309 1.51 +24%
North Dakota 25 1.46 +21%
Minnesota 177 1.44 +19%
Maryland 172 1.44 +19%
Pennsylvania 378 1.42 +17%
Wisconsin 166 1.40 +16%
Florida 634 1.34 +10%
Maine 25 1.29 +6%
Arizona 203 1.24 ≈ national
Texas 1,075 1.22 ≈ national
New Hampshire 27 1.22 ≈ national
Nevada 64 1.12 -7%
New York 434 1.00 -17%
New Jersey 201 0.998 -18%
Illinois 246 0.963 -21%
California 833 0.911 -25%
Connecticut 57 0.842 -31%
Massachusetts 79 0.575 -53%
Utah 46 0.482 -60%
Rhode Island 6 0.368 -70%
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Judah

Judah is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #178 in 2025 with 2,050 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1912, 36,431 American babies have been named Judah. Its peak came in 2021, when 2,178 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Judah stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Judah?

The median living Judah is about 8 years old; half are between 4 and 14. An estimated 36 thousand people named Judah are alive in the United States today.

median 8 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Judah year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 41 #3,674 2,050 #178
2024 40 #3,786 2,092 #178
2023 39 #3,873 2,101 #176
2022 50 #3,249 2,098 #180
2021 45 #3,462 2,133 #182
2020 51 #3,116 2,109 #184
2019 46 #3,418 2,073 #189
2018 34 #4,191 2,022 #201
2017 42 #3,663 1,932 #205
2016 29 #4,780 1,681 #231
2015 30 #4,650 1,652 #234
2014 34 #4,314 1,550 #239
2013 30 #4,699 1,350 #263
2012 25 #5,469 1,307 #271
2011 30 #4,742 1,229 #286
2010 29 #4,912 1,111 #295
2009 27 #5,291 992 #323
2008 20 #6,678 771 #392
2007 23 #5,985 692 #421
2006 23 #5,808 530 #488
2005 20 #6,119 481 #511
2004 18 #6,620 411 #558
2003 18 #6,428 306 #651
2002 14 #7,612 295 #649
2001 14 #7,505 239 #728
2000 15 #6,972 199 #810
1995 9 #9,095 104 #1,123
1990 5 #13,952 68 #1,356
1985 – – 43 #1,534
1980 – – 37 #1,607
1975 – – 37 #1,467
1970 – – 14 #2,571
1965 – – 10 #2,691
1960 – – 10 #2,773
1955 – – 9 #2,869
1950 – – 8 #2,900
1945 – – 8 #2,657
1940 – – 5 #3,708
1935 – – – –
1930 – – 6 #3,804
1925 – – – –
1920 – – 8 #3,355
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Judah

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Judah Friedlander Judah Friedlander American actor and comedian (born 1969) Contemporary
  2. 2 Judah P. Benjamin Judah P. Benjamin American politician and lawyer (1811–1884) 19th century
  3. 3 Judah Loew ben Bezalel Judah Loew ben Bezalel Czech rabbi and Kabbalist (d. 1609) 1512–1609 · 16th century
  4. 4 Judah Halevi Judah Halevi Iberian philosopher and poet (c.1075–1141) 1079–1141 · Medieval
  5. 5 Judah ha-Nasi Judah ha-Nasi 2nd-century rabbi and editor of the Mishnah 135–217 · Antiquity
  6. 6 Judah Folkman American surgeon and research biologist (1933–2008) Contemporary
  7. 7 Judah Leon Abravanel Judah Leon Abravanel Portuguese Jewish philosopher, physician, and poet 1460–1530 · Medieval

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Judah, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Judah?

The median living Judah is about 8 years old. Half of all living Judahs are between 4 and 14 years old.

How many people named Judah are alive today?

An estimated 36 thousand people named Judah are alive in the United States, based on 36,431 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Judah mean?

Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה (yehudá).

How popular is the name Judah in 2025?

Judah ranked #178 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,050 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Judah?

36,431 babies have been named Judah in the United States since 1912, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Judah most popular?

Judah peaked in 2021, when 2,178 newborns received the name.

Is Judah a boy or girl name?

Judah is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 98% of babies with the name.

Is the name Judah rising or falling?

Judah is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Judah become more popular?

Judah looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,111 boys named Judah in 2030, ranking around #173. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Judah?

Well-known people named Judah include Judah Friedlander (actor), Judah P. Benjamin (politician), Judah Loew ben Bezalel (philosopher).

Names like Judah

Names that sound and feel close to Judah: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Judah with similar names → More names starting with J →