Jabez
He causes pain or sorrow in Hebrew.
Name Census estimates that about 1,072 living Americans carry the first name Jabez. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jabez today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jabez births was 2002 (102 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jabez. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 319,734 Americans
Peak year
2002
102 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,989
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Jabez: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jabez from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 549 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jabez by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jabez during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jabez' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Florida, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Jabez, while Washington, Louisiana, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jabez
The name Jabez has its origins in the Hebrew language, with its earliest known use dating back to biblical times. The name is derived from the Hebrew word "ya'atz," which means "to cause pain" or "to grieve." It is believed to have originated as a name given to children in ancient Hebrew culture to express the pain or struggle endured during their birth or as a reminder of the suffering of life.
The name Jabez finds its first recorded mention in the Bible, specifically in the Book of 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. Here, Jabez is described as a man who was "more honorable than his brothers," and his mother named him Jabez because "she bore him in pain." The biblical passage relates a prayer uttered by Jabez, in which he asks God to bless him and enlarge his territory, and it is said that God granted his request.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Jabez was Jabez Bunting (1779-1858), an English Methodist minister and theologian who played a significant role in the leadership of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in the 19th century. Another notable Jabez was Jabez Curry (1761-1825), an American Baptist minister and educator who served as the second president of the University of Georgia.
In the literary realm, Jabez Oliphant (1545-1642) was an English poet and translator during the Elizabethan era, known for his translation of Virgil's Aeneid into English verse. Additionally, Jabez Hughes (1685-1731), a Welsh Baptist minister and author, wrote several notable works on religious topics in the early 18th century.
Lastly, Jabez Hogg (1817-1899) was an English dentist and author who made significant contributions to the field of dental surgery and wrote several influential books on the subject in the 19th century.
While the name Jabez is not as common today as it once was, its biblical roots and historical significance have left an indelible mark on the annals of various cultures and disciplines throughout history.
People
Jabez + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jabez as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jabez: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jabez?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,072 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jabez going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 319,734 US residents.
Is Jabez a common name?
We classify Jabez as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,117 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jabez most popular?
The single biggest year for Jabez was 2002, when 102 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jabez is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jabez a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jabez in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.