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Jed

Masculine · “beloved of the Lord”

1913high 1978
#1992 in the U.S.stepping back from its peak
falling76 boys in 2025

Jed is Jedidiah shortened, and the Hebrew is beloved of the Lord — the private name Nathan gave Solomon at his birth.

How old is the name Jed?

Jed first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Jed alive today was born around 1978, making them about 47 years old. About 7,800 people named Jed are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Jed most popular?

Jed peaked in 1978, reaching #483 nationally. Today it ranks #1992, 1,509 places below that high. See the whole 1978 chart.

Compare this nameMore “J” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Jed

Solomon is given two names at birth: Shlomo by his parents and Yedidyah by the prophet, and the second is never used again in the text. Puritan families took Jedidiah up in the seventeenth century, and English speech clipped it to Jed. American families registered the clipping outright and it is in current use.

Meaning

beloved of the Lord

Through Jedidiah, from the Hebrew Yedidyah — yadid, 'beloved', and Yah, the divine name. 2 Samuel 12 says the Lord sent word by Nathan the prophet that the child should be called Jedidiah — a second name alongside Solomon. The Hebrew is undisputed.

How the name formed

  1. yadid Yah
  2. Yedidyah
  3. Jedidiah
  4. Jed

Related forms: Jedidiah · Yedidyah · Jedd

Pronouncing Jed

JED

One syllable. Jed and Jedd are homophones; only the spelling differs.

Nicknames for Jed

Moderate

JedidiahThe parent form, available as a considerably grander version
JeddyThe affectionate stretch, used inside families rather than generally
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

BOYS NAMED · 1913–202528214102827619132025

US babies named Jed per year from 1913 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#4831910s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1913
Most boys named
1978282 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#483reached in 1978
Change vs 2023
−17.4%76 in 2025, from 92
Jed is past its biggest year. The count topped out at 282 boys in 1978 and has eased 73% since — the slow half of a naming cycle, where a name stays familiar while getting steadily less common. The move since 2023: down 17.4%.

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.

Jed in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Jedidiah in English — related form
  • Yedidyah in Hebrew — related form
  • Jedd in English — spelling variant

Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Tennessee, Ohio.

Jeds among us

7,800

people named Jed are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 boy in 22,475 born in 2025 was named Jed

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

Spellings of Jed

#1992
Jed on the 2025 chart
#843
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Jed went to 76 boys in 2025, but Jedd is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 85, which makes it the 843rd most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,149 places above the chart.

About 1 boy in 20,095 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 22,475 for Jed itself.

Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method

III

Is it right for you

The Dickie test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jed's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dickie climbed just as high around 1947, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dickie's path sketches the road Jed is walking now.

40%chance Jed will feel dated by 2040
Jed, aligned on its peakDickie· peak 1947not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-40 yrs+50 yrsDickie · #7547Jed today
Jed today is about where Dickie stood in 1994 — 47 years past a #483-sized peak. Within 15 years, Dickie had drifted out of the mainstream charts.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Jed sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.

A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored

Where Jed is headed

19132030

US babies named Jed per year, 1913 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Jed should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.

Steady+3% by 2030projected around #2,058 in 2030

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.

Jed beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Jed in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Jedthis name76#1992Buck76#1992Exodus76#1992Cadence76#1992Hashim76#1992

US boys given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • The beloved-of-the-Lord meaning is a complete statement and is undisputed.
  • That Solomon had a second name given by a prophet is a genuinely good detail.
  • Jedidiah is available as a full formal version.
What to consider
  • Given outright it stays informal; Jedidiah on the certificate keeps both registers.
  • It reads as distinctly American and rural to some.
  • It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.

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Jed

Masculine · #1992 in the U.S.

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Frequently asked

How many Jeds are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 7,800 people named Jed are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Jed?
Jed is the most-used spelling in US records — 76 of the 85 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Jedd.
How popular is the name Jed in 2025?
Jed ranks #1992 among US boy names in 2025, with 76 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Jed?
About 1 in every 22,475 US boys born in 2025 was named Jed — 76 in all.
Will my child share the name Jed with classmates?
Jed will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Jed

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Buck#1992 · Exodus#1992 · Cadence#1992 · Hashim#1992 · Ori#1992 · Paolo#1992 · Abubakr#1992 · Chosyn#1992

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jed? See the current top 100.

Choosing between Jed and another name?

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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