Boy · #3,379 in 2026

Jah

Name: Popularity of the name Jah in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Jah, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Jah or Yah is a short form of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH), the personal name of God: Yahweh, which the ancient Israelites used. The conventional Christian English pronunciation of Jah is, even though the letter J here transliterates the palatal approximant.

Current Rank

#3,379

Peak Rank

#3,002 (2022)

Total Babies

500

5-Yr Trend

+47%

1982

First Year

2026

Last Year

2022

Peak Year

#3002

Peak Rank

500

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Jah

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Etymology

Main article: Yahweh The name of the national god of the kingdoms of Israel (Samaria) and Judah is written in the Hebrew Bible as יהוה ( YHWH ), which modern scholars often render as Yahweh . The short form Jah/Yah , appears in Exodus 15:2 and 17:16, Psalm 89:9, (arguably, by emendation ) [ citation needed ] Song of Songs 8:6, as well as in the phrase Hallelujah . The name of Yahweh is also incorporated into several theophoric names , however, in almost all cases the Hebrew name itself uses -yāhū , not -yāh . This does not preclude the translation of several -yāhū names without the added ū , s

The Story of Jah

Jah first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1982, with 6 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2022, when 41 Jahs were born — ranking #3,002 that year. As of 2026, Jah ranks #3,379 for baby boys with 35 births, rising sharply (+47% over the past five years). In total, more than 500 Jahs have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1980s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Jah

Phonetically similar names — useful when Jah is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Gia
Juh
Jea
Tje
Dja
Tja
Dje
Gja
Jeh
Geof
Jih
Jay

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jah

What does the name Jah mean?

How popular is Jah in 2026?

In 2026, Jah ranks #3,379 among boys' names in the U.S., with 35 babies given the name that year.

When was Jah most popular?

Jah reached its peak popularity in 2022, ranking #3,002 that year with 41 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Jah most popular?

Jah has historically been most popular in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Jah.

Is Jah a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Jah is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.

What names go well with Jah?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Jah include Ayaz, Jaaziel, Huzaifa. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Jah

Jah is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1982 and has accumulated 500 births in the dataset. Jah's peak popularity came in 2022 when it ranked #3,002. Use the chart and map above to compare Jah's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.