BabyNameScore

Judah

JOO·duh · 2 syllables

Judah is comfortably familiar.

91/100

Strong Practical Fit

Balanced across pronunciation, everyday use, lifetime fit and international use.

Name Profile

  1. Pronunciation & Spelling

    Clear, with one common misreading

    91/100

  2. Everyday Use

    Low risk

    95/100

  3. Growing Up

    Strong lifetime fit

    Works comfortably across child and adult settings.

    82/100

  4. International Use

    Broad international fit

    Works cleanly across the assessed languages and writing systems.

    85/100

NAME DETAILS

DOCUMENTED USE
Masculine
CLOSE SPELLINGS
Juda
OTHER-LANGUAGE FORM
Yehuda
ORIGIN & HISTORY

About the name

Judah's name story is directly tied to its Genesis origin: Leah names her fourth son Yehuda after declaring "this time I will praise the LORD," using a Hebrew word built on the same root as the name itself — a rare case where the Bible narrates the name's meaning explicitly, and one that later gave rise to an entire tribe, kingdom, and the word "Jew." Sources are consistent on Judah's Hebrew "praise" etymology and its Genesis narrative origin; no genuine disagreement was found among the consulted sources.

  1. יְהוּדָה (Yehuda, Hebrew). Praise or thanksgiving (from Hebrew yadah, "to praise/thank"); the name is popularly explained via Leah's exclamation "this time I will praise the LORD" at Judah's birth in Genesis 29:35. In the Hebrew Bible, Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah and became ancestor of the Tribe of Judah, which formed the southern Kingdom of Judah; centuries later, Judah Maccabee led the 2nd-century BC Maccabean Revolt commemorated by Hanukkah, and the name persisted through figures like the medieval poet-philosopher Judah Halevi and 19th-century American statesman Judah P. Benjamin.
  2. Mythological and religious contextJudah is central to both Jewish and Christian scripture: he was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah in Genesis, ancestor of the tribe from which King David and, in Christian tradition, Jesus were said to descend; his name is explained in Genesis 29:35 by Leah's exclamation of praise ("odeh," sharing the same Hebrew root as Yehuda) upon his birth.
POPULARITY

Judah over time

United States
#178RANK

Rank #178 gives national context, not a classroom forecast.

Recognizable without feeling automatic. Ranked #178 in the U.S., 2025.

SourceU.S. Social Security Administration · 2025 release

Pronunciation & Forms

SAY IT

JOO·duh

STRESS ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE

CLOSE SPELLINGS
  • Juda
OTHER-LANGUAGE FORMS
  • YehudaHE
  • Jude (English, via New Testament form)
  • JudasGreek New Testament form
PRACTICAL LIFE

How This Name Lives

AT SCHOOL & DAY TO DAY

For a child, Judah is warm and distinctive without being unusual, easy to say in two clear syllables, and carries a sense of built-in meaning ("praise") that some families find appealing to explain to a young child.

INTO ADULTHOOD

Judah reads as strong, dignified, and grounded in professional and adult contexts, carrying its biblical patriarch-and-tribe associations (and modern descriptors like "classic, mature, strong") without feeling old-fashioned.

Cultural Footprint

Judah is deeply embedded in Jewish identity and history: the Tribe of Judah gave its name to the Kingdom of Judah and, ultimately, to the word "Jew" itself, making the name inseparable from Jewish peoplehood and history.

TRACEABLE ORIGIN
  1. Judah Maccabee2nd-century BC Jewish leader of the Maccabean Revolt commemorated by Hanukkah
  2. Judah Halevimedieval Jewish poet and philosopher, author of the Kuzari
  3. Judah P. Benjamin19th-century American and Confederate States politician and lawyer
  4. Judah Ben-Hurtitle character of Lew Wallace's novel Ben-Hur and its film adaptations

Community Impressions

Judah reads as strong, classic, and quietly meaningful — public perception (per aggregated user ratings on a name-reference site) skews toward words like "classic, mature, formal, natural, wholesome, and strong," reflecting its deep biblical roots.

How this name is commonly received · not used in the score

More about Judah

FORMALITY

Judah functions as a complete standalone name in both formal and informal registers and is not typically shortened.

Names around it

JudeYehudaJudith
EDITORIAL SYNTHESIS

The Decision

Judah is spelled without unusual letter patterns, and it holds up in everyday use. Surname-dependent compatibility remains unassessed until a surname is added.

STRENGTH

English speakers will most likely pronounce it correctly on the first try. Uses standard characters that systems widely handle cleanly.

BEST FIT

Everyday Use is the strongest-scoring part of this name — no obvious nickname traps, rhymes, or initial issues detected.

FULL-NAME CHECK

See how it works with a surname.

Judah