Jedidiah
Masculine · “beloved of the Lord”
Jedidiah is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 9,316 boys against 45 girls since 1880.
Jedidiah comes from a single, quiet moment in the Hebrew Bible: a second name given to Solomon, meaning beloved of the Lord. Four syllables that land on a rising middle — jed-i-DYE-uh — and then fold instantly down to Jed, which has been doing the everyday work for centuries. Familiar in shape without being heard often.
How old is the name Jedidiah?
Jedidiah first appears in US birth records in 1971 — 54 years ago. The typical Jedidiah alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 9,100 people named Jedidiah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jedidiah most popular?
Jedidiah peaked in 1979, reaching #625 nationally. Today it ranks #874, 249 places below that high. See the whole 1979 chart.
Jedidiah appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Yedidyah to Jedidiah
The story of Jedidiah
The name appears in the Hebrew Bible in 2 Samuel, where the prophet Nathan gives the infant Solomon the additional name Yedidyah — beloved of the Lord. It traveled into English through Bible translation rather than through kings or saints, which is why it stayed rare for so long. English Puritans of the seventeenth century, hunting the Old Testament for names outside the usual church calendar, picked it up and carried it to colonial New England, where it settled alongside Ebenezer, Zebulon and Hezekiah. From there it kept a thin but unbroken thread through American use, and returned in the wave of long Old Testament names that brought Elijah, Isaiah and Josiah back into everyday life.
Meaning
beloved of the Lord
From Hebrew yadid, 'beloved' or 'friend', joined to Yah, a short form of the divine name.
How the name formed
- Yedidyah
- Jedidiah
- Jedediah
- Jed
Related forms: Yedidya · Jedediah · Jedidja · Jedidja · Jedidías · Jedidias
Pronouncing Jedidiah
jed-i-DYE-uh
Four syllables with the stress on the third. The pattern is the same one English speakers already use for Isaiah and Obadiah, so the pronunciation rarely needs explaining — only the spelling does.
Nicknames for Jedidiah
High
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
- 1971
- Most boys named
- 2017362 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #625reached in 1979
- Change vs 2024
- −12.7%274 in 2025, from 314
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.
Jedidiah in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Yedidya in Hebrew — transliteration
- Jedediah in English — spelling variant
- Jedidja in Dutch — same name
- Jedidja in German — same name
- Jedidías in Spanish — same name
- Jedidias in Portuguese — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Jedidiahs among us
people named Jedidiah are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 6,234 born in 2025 was named Jedidiah
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 Arlan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jedidiah's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Arlan climbed just as high around 1936, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Arlan's path sketches the road Jedidiah is walking now.
Jedidiah 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 Jedidiah is headed
Jedidiah should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Jedidiah beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jedidiah in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Jed is a ready-made short form with a long independent history, so the name works in both a full and a brief register from day one.
- A documented biblical origin with a clear, well-attested meaning — nothing contested to explain.
- Its rhythm matches Elijah, Isaiah and Josiah, names most people can already say and place.
- Recognized in Bible translations across Dutch, German, Spanish and Hebrew, so it is not locked to English.
- Jedidiah and Jedediah are both established spellings, and one will be corrected into the other for life. Choosing the one you want and expecting to repeat it is the realistic plan.
- Four syllables plus an unusual spelling means a lot of forms, spelling-outs and coffee cups. Jed absorbs most of that in practice.
- The Star Wars echo in the first two syllables is not going away, though it tends to be affectionate rather than mocking.
- A child with this name will likely be the only one in the school, which cuts both ways: no surname initial needed, but also a name others have to learn.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Jedidiah to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Jedidiah
Masculine · #874 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jedidiahs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 9,100 people named Jedidiah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jedidiah in 2025?
- Jedidiah ranks #874 among US boy names in 2025, with 274 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jedidiah?
- About 1 in every 6,234 US boys born in 2025 was named Jedidiah — 274 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jedidiah with classmates?
- Jedidiah will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jedidiah
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Joey#874 · Coast#874 · Abner#874 · Orlando#871 · Aryan#871 · Adler#871 · Kylen#878 · Ernesto#878
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jedidiah? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jedidiah and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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