Judah
Meaning of Judah
Judah—pronounced JOO-duh in English or, with a more Semitic flourish, yoo-DAH—derives from the Hebrew יְהוּדָה (Yehudah), “praised,” a meaning that has echoed through millennia like a canticle wandering over the Judean hills and slipping, almost nonchalantly, into the pages of the Latin Vulgate. In Scripture he is both patriarch and progenitor: the fourth son of Jacob, standard-bearer of the lion-crested tribe, ancestral root of King David, and, by theological extension, the Messianic line—hardly a résumé to sneeze at, even for so lofty a moniker. The name’s modern trajectory in the United States, rising from the statistical catacombs of rank 658 in the late 1980s to a comfortable 173 in 2024, suggests that contemporary parents, like prudent antiquarians dusting off a forgotten codex, are rediscovering its resonant blend of gravitas and warmth. Academically minded observers might label Judah an onomastic palimpsest: ancient ink overlaid with fresh possibility, a triumvirate of soft consonants and open vowels that rolls off the tongue with the measured confidence of a Roman orator addressing the Forum. Thus, whether one envisions a future philosopher, a budding composer, or simply a child whose laughter might rival the lyre of King David, Judah offers a name both venerable and vivace—an appellative tessera linking cradle to canon, playground to Pantheon.
Pronunciation
American English
- Pronunced as JOO-duh (/ˈdʒu.də/)
Hebrew
- Pronunced as yoo-DAH (/juːˈdɑː/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Judah
| Judah P. Benjamin, a Louisiana senator and Confederate Cabinet member who later became a British barrister, was the first Jew to hold a North American Cabinet post and the first elected to the US Senate without renouncing his faith. |
| Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg, also called Judah the Pious, led the Ashkenazi Hasidim, a movement of Jewish mysticism in Germany. |
| Judah Leib Ben-Ze'ev - Judah Leib Ben Zeev was a Galician Jewish philologist and lexicographer who championed the revival of Hebrew as part of the Meassefim group. |
| Judah Friedlander is an American actor and stand up comedian best known for playing Frank Rossitano on 30 Rock and Toby Radloff in American Splendor, which earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and for being the hug guy in the Dave Matthews Band Everyday video. |
| Judah Monis, the first North American college instructor of Hebrew, taught at Harvard from 1722 to 1760, wrote the first Hebrew textbook in North America, became the first Jewish college graduate in the colonies, and drew controversy for converting to Christianity. |
| Judah Leib Gordon, also called Leon Gordon, was a leading Hebrew poet of the Haskalah. |
| Judah Eskender Tafari, born Ronald William Merrills, was a Jamaican reggae singer known for his spiritual voice and classic Studio One records, and he died in 2020 after a long illness. |
| Judah Mordechai Cohen was a Dutch-born British merchant and Jamaican planter who traded in the West Indies with his brother from 1804 and, by the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act, was among the largest slave owners in the British West Indies, holding over 1255 enslaved people. |
| Judah ben Solomon ha-Kohen - Judah ben Solomon ha Kohen was a 13th century Spanish Jewish philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who authored Midrash ha Hokhmah, the first major Hebrew encyclopedia uniting exact sciences with biblical and rabbinic learning. |
| Judah HeHasid - Judah he Hasid Segal ha Levi was a Jewish preacher who led the largest organized group of Jewish immigrants to the Land of Israel in the 17th and 18th centuries. |
| Judah Julius Bardach was a Russian Jewish writer, translator and educator. |
| Judah Leib Prossnitz was a late 17th century Moravian kabbalist who left Uhersky Brod for Prostejov, where he married, peddled in nearby villages, and, in poverty, lived in a deserted hovel said to be haunted. |
| Judah Leib Cahan, known as Y L Cahan, was a Yiddish folklorist. |
| Judah Idel Scherschewsky was a Lithuanian scholar of Talmud and the Hebrew language. |
| Judah ben Moses Romano was a 14th century Italian Jewish philosopher and translator, and a cousin of Immanuel of Rome. |
