Jareth
Masculine
Jareth is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 2,076 boys against 37 girls since 1880.
Jareth was coined for a 1986 film — the Goblin King of Labyrinth — and it has no source outside that script.
How old is the name Jareth?
Jareth first appears in US birth records in 1986 — 39 years ago. The typical Jareth alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 2,000 people named Jareth are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jareth most popular?
Jareth peaked in 1987, reaching #1439 nationally. Today it ranks #1867, 428 places below that high. See the whole 1987 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Jareth
Our story of Jareth is a story of a name built to sound half-familiar. Jared is biblical; Gareth is Arthurian; Jareth is neither, and its whole existence begins with a 1986 fantasy film in which David Bowie plays a Goblin King. The American registers show it appearing from that year and rising steadily among viewers who grew up with the film. One script, one performance, forty years — which is an honest history, and a shorter one than most names get.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No established etymology. The name was created for the 1986 film Labyrinth and does not correspond to a word in any natural language. It resembles the biblical Jared and Gareth by sound, which is presumably the point, but descends from neither. Honest sources record it as an invention.
Pronouncing Jareth
JAIR-eth
Two syllables, stress on the first. Jareth and Gareth differ only in the initial consonant.
Nicknames for Jareth
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1986
- Most boys named
- 202490 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1439reached in 1987
- Change vs 2024
- −6.7%84 in 2025, from 90
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jareth in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jarreth in English — spelling variant
- Jared in English — related form
- Gareth in Welsh — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, New York.
Jareths among us
people named Jareth are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 20,334 born in 2025 was named Jareth
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Shirl test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jareth's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Shirl climbed just as high around 1938, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Shirl's path sketches the road Jareth is walking now.
Jareth is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Jareth is headed
Jareth looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 31% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Jareth beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jareth in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Its invention is unusually well documented — one film, one year.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It is genuinely rare and immediately distinctive.
- There is no meaning; the name is an invention.
- The association with one character is total.
- Jared and Gareth are both close enough to cause confusion.
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What they receive
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Jareth
Masculine · #1867 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jareths are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,000 people named Jareth are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jareth in 2025?
- Jareth ranks #1867 among US boy names in 2025, with 84 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jareth?
- About 1 in every 20,334 US boys born in 2025 was named Jareth — 84 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jareth with classmates?
- Jareth will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jareth
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Bryar#1867 · Ishan#1867 · Jakhari#1867 · Fidel#1867 · Kasper#1867 · Klay#1867 · Brighton#1867 · Coby#1867
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jareth? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jareth and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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