Jude
Masculine · “praised”
Jude is given to both — 53,982 boys and 3,024 girls since 1880. See Jude as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Jude reaches English through the New Testament, where translators used it to keep the short epistle's author distinct from Judas Iscariot. Thomas Hardy borrowed it for a novel in 1895, the Beatles put it in the mouth of everyone who owned a radio in 1968, and it has been climbing quietly ever since. One syllable, one obvious spelling, and a record that runs back to the Hebrew Bible.
How old is the name Jude?
Jude first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Jude is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 52,500 people named Jude are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jude most popular?
Jude peaked in 2021, reaching #151 nationally. Today it ranks #155, 4 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yehudah to Jude
The story of Jude
The name begins as Hebrew Yehudah, borne by one of Jacob's sons and given to the kingdom and people of Judah. Greek-speaking writers rendered it Ioudas, Latin took it as Judas, and English translators of the Bible clipped it to Jude for the author of the brief epistle near the end of the New Testament — a deliberate way of separating him from the other Judas. That trimmed form stayed largely a churchly name in English for centuries, attached to St Jude, until Hardy's Jude the Obscure and then a 1968 Beatles single carried it into ordinary speech. It has been in American use since the early twentieth century, but its real growth belongs to the last couple of decades, in Britain as well as here.
Meaning
praised
From Hebrew Yehudah, tied to the verb meaning to praise or give thanks.
Cultural footprint
Jude Law (b. 1972) — The Talented Mr. Ripley star
Jude Bellingham (b. 2003) — Real Madrid's English soccer sensation
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Yehudah
- Ioudas
- Judas
- Jude
Related forms: Yehuda · Judah · Judas · Ioudas · Giuda · Jude
Pronouncing Jude
JOOD
One syllable, rhyming with mood. The same in American and British English.
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
- 1912
- Most boys named
- 20142,592 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #151reached in 2021
- Change vs 2023
- +4.9%2,384 in 2025, from 2,272
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.
Jude in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Yehuda in Hebrew — same name
- Judah in English — related form
- Judas in Latin — same name
- Ioudas in Greek — transliteration
- Giuda in Italian — related form
- Jude in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Ohio. International figures from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland. Sources
Judes among us
people named Jude are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 716 born in 2025 was named Jude
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 Chandler test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jude's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Chandler climbed just as high around 1999, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Chandler's path sketches the road Jude is walking now.
Jude 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 Jude is headed
Jude 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.
Jude beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jude in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and one spelling: people who hear it can write it, and people who read it can say it.
- Needs no shortening, so the name you choose is the name that gets used, at home and on paper alike.
- A documented line back to the Hebrew Bible, with a saint, a Hardy novel and a Beatles song along the way.
- Charts in England and Wales and in Scotland as well as the US, so it travels without translation.
- Nearly everyone of a certain listening habit will start singing Hey Jude, at least the first few times. It is affectionate rather than mocking, but it is close to guaranteed.
- The older Latin form Judas still carries its own association, and a few people will make the connection before they make the distinction the English spelling was invented to preserve.
- Its growth is recent, so most Judes right now are children rather than adults — the name reads young at the moment, which will simply change as they grow up.
- Expect the occasional slip to Judd, or to Judy, especially over the phone.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Jude
Masculine · #155 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Judes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 52,500 people named Jude are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jude in 2025?
- Jude ranks #155 among US boy names in 2025, with 2,384 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jude?
- About 1 in every 716 US boys born in 2025 was named Jude — 2,384 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jude with classmates?
- Jude will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jude
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Emilio#154 · Jaxson#156 · Colter#157 · Evan#153 · Diego#158 · Bryson#152 · Elliot#151 · Juan#159
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jude? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jude and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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