Obed
Masculine · “servant”
Obed is a servant in Hebrew, and he is Ruth's son — the grandfather of David, which makes a Moabite woman ancestress of the royal line.
How old is the name Obed?
Obed was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Obed alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 3,700 people named Obed are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Obed most popular?
Obed peaked in 1880, reaching #809 nationally. Today it ranks #2056, 1,247 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From oved to Obed
The story of Obed
The book of Ruth ends by naming Obed as her son and tracing three generations to David — the point of the whole story being that a Moabite foreigner stands in the royal genealogy. Matthew's gospel repeats the line. The name appears in Spanish-speaking and American records in current use.
Meaning
servant, worshipper
From the Hebrew oved, 'one who serves' or 'worships', from the root '-b-d, which gives both labor and worship. The same root stands behind the Arabic abd in Abdullah. The Hebrew is ordinary and the reading undisputed.
How the name formed
- oved
- Obed
Related forms: עובד · Obed · Obed
Pronouncing Obed
OH-bed
Two syllables, stress on the first. Hebrew oved stresses the second, oh-VED.
Nicknames for Obed
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2009117 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #809reached in 1880
- Change vs 2023
- −14.3%72 in 2025, from 84
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.
Obed in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- עובד in Hebrew — transliteration
- Obed in Spanish — same name
- Obed in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Obeds among us
people named Obed are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 23,723 born in 2025 was named Obed
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Obed 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 Obed is headed
Obed 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.
Obed beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Obed in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That a Moabite woman's son stands in David's genealogy is a first-rate biblical fact.
- That the same root means both labor and worship is a genuinely good detail.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It is genuinely rare and will be asked about.
- The servant meaning reads differently to different families.
- Hebrew and English stress it differently.
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What they receive
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Obed
Masculine · #2056 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Obeds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,700 people named Obed are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Obed in 2025?
- Obed ranks #2056 among US boy names in 2025, with 72 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Obed?
- About 1 in every 23,723 US boys born in 2025 was named Obed — 72 in all.
- Will my child share the name Obed with classmates?
- Obed will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Obed
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aylan#2056 · Lake#2056 · Alfie#2056 · Jamar#2056 · Farhan#2056 · Haider#2056 · Everardo#2056 · Hernan#2056
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Obed? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Obed and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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