Nahum
Masculine · “comfort”
Nahum is comfort in Hebrew — and his short book is three chapters of unrelieved rejoicing at the fall of Nineveh.
How old is the name Nahum?
Nahum first appears in US birth records in 1918 — 107 years ago. The typical Nahum alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 2,100 people named Nahum are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nahum most popular?
Nahum peaked in 2005, reaching #1725 nationally. Today it ranks #2363, 638 places below that high. See the whole 2005 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From nacham to Nahum
The story of Nahum
Nahum's three chapters celebrate the destruction of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, in terms that leave no room for pity — and his name means comfort, which the book takes to mean comfort for Assyria's victims. The name is in current American use.
Meaning
comfort, consolation
From the Hebrew nachum, 'comforted' or 'consoled', from nacham, 'to comfort'. The same root gives Nehemiah and Menachem. The book's title sits pointedly against its content. The Hebrew is documented.
How the name formed
- nacham
- Nachum
- Nahum
Related forms: נחום · Nachum · Nahúm
Pronouncing Nahum
NAY-hum
Two syllables, stress on the first. Hebrew Nachum is na-KHOOM with a throat consonant.
Nicknames for Nahum
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
- 1918
- Most boys named
- 200785 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1725reached in 2005
- Change vs 2024
- −7.9%58 in 2025, from 63
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.
Nahum in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- נחום in Hebrew — transliteration
- Nachum in English — spelling variant
- Nahúm in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Nahums among us
people named Nahum are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 29,450 born in 2025 was named Nahum
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 Clancy test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nahum's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Clancy climbed just as high around 1955, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Clancy's path sketches the road Nahum is walking now.
Nahum 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 Nahum is headed
Nahum should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Nahum beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nahum in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That a book of comfort is three chapters of triumph over a fallen empire is a first-rate tension.
- The comfort meaning is transparent and warm.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk in English.
- The book's content is unrelentingly vengeful.
- Hebrew and English pronounce the middle consonant differently.
- It is genuinely rare and will be asked about.
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What they receive
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Nahum
Masculine · #2363 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nahums are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Nahum are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nahum in 2025?
- Nahum ranks #2363 among US boy names in 2025, with 58 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nahum?
- About 1 in every 29,450 US boys born in 2025 was named Nahum — 58 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nahum with classmates?
- Nahum will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nahum
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Javi#2363 · Zacchaeus#2363 · Pete#2363 · Herman#2363 · Clint#2363 · Lipa#2363 · Reuven#2363 · Kyngston#2363
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nahum? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nahum and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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