Jihad
Masculine · “struggle”
Jihad is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 2,058 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Jihad is the Arabic word for struggle or striving, and the tradition distinguishes an inner struggle from an outer one and calls the first the greater.
How old is the name Jihad?
Jihad first appears in US birth records in 1969 — 56 years ago. The typical Jihad alive today was born around 1999, making them about 26 years old. About 2,000 people named Jihad are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jihad most popular?
Jihad peaked in 1994, reaching #1244 nationally. Today it ranks #4539, 3,295 places below that high. See the whole 1994 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Jihad
The root j-h-d is about exertion, and jihad in ordinary Arabic can describe a student's effort or a farmer's work. The theological literature is extensive and the distinction between inner and outer struggle is old and much repeated. In American and European public discourse the word carries a narrower and heavier association, which any family choosing it will meet. It is used as a personal name across the Arab world.
Meaning
struggle, striving, effort
From an Arabic root meaning to strive or exert oneself; the word covers any serious effort. A much-cited tradition distinguishes the greater jihad, the struggle against one's own faults, from the lesser, armed struggle.
Pronouncing Jihad
ji-HAAD
Two syllables with the stress on the long second. Americans say JEE-hod.
Nicknames for Jihad
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
- 1969
- Most boys named
- 200096 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1244reached in 1994
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%22 in 2025, from 22
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.
Jihad in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jihad in Arabic — same name
- Cihat in Turkish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania, New Jersey.
Jihads among us
people named Jihad are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 77,640 born in 2025 was named Jihad
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 Bohdan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jihad's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Bohdan climbed just as high around 1952, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Bohdan's path sketches the road Jihad is walking now.
Jihad 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
Jihad beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jihad in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning that is much broader than English usage suggests.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- It is used for both sexes in some Arab countries.
- The word carries a heavy and narrow association in English-speaking countries.
- That association is likely to follow the name in schools, travel and employment.
- The Arabic sense and the English one are genuinely different, which will need explaining often.
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What they receive
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Jihad
Masculine · #4539 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jihads 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 Jihad are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jihad in 2025?
- Jihad ranks #4539 among US boy names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jihad?
- About 1 in every 77,640 US boys born in 2025 was named Jihad — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jihad with classmates?
- Jihad will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jihad
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nels#4539 · Gabe#4539 · Michel#4539 · Elroy#4539 · Orlin#4539 · Pearce#4539 · Josemaria#4539 · Napoleon#4539
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jihad? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jihad and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
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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