Jah
A masculine name meaning "Jehovah", derived from the Hebrew word for God.
Name Census estimates that about 426 living Americans carry the first name Jah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jah today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jah births was 2022 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jah. 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
426
~ 1 in 804,588 Americans
Peak year
2022
41 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,475
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Jah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 190 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jah 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 Jah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Jah, while North Carolina, California, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jah
The name Jah originates from the Hebrew word "Yah," which is a shortened form of the name "Yahweh," the personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible. This name has its roots in ancient Semitic languages and cultures, dating back thousands of years.
The name Jah is closely associated with the Rastafari movement, which emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s. Rastafarians consider Jah to be the supreme being and the name is often used as a term of reverence and respect. The Rastafari movement was heavily influenced by the teachings of Marcus Garvey, a prominent Pan-Africanist leader, and the biblical figure of the Ethiopian king, Haile Selassie I, who was regarded as a divine figure by Rastafarians.
In the Hebrew Bible, the name Jah appears in several places, including the Book of Psalms and the Book of Isaiah. For example, in Psalm 68:4, it is written, "Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him." This verse highlights the use of Jah as a name for the Almighty.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jah can be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient Hebrew manuscripts dating back to the 3rd century BCE. The name appears in various forms, such as "Yah" and "Yahweh," further cementing its ancient origins.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Jah or a variation of it. One of the most famous is Jah Rastafari, a moniker used by Rastafarians to refer to Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, who was born in 1892 and died in 1975. Another notable figure is Jah Shaka, a pioneering Jamaican sound system operator and producer, who was instrumental in the early development of reggae music.
In addition, there were historical figures such as Jah Rastafari Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, and Jah Seh Rastafari, a Jamaican Rastafarian elder who played a significant role in the spread of the Rastafari movement. Jah Cure, a contemporary reggae artist from Jamaica, and Jah Wobble, an English musician known for his work with Public Image Ltd, also bear this name or variations of it.
People
Jah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jah 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
Jah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 426 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jah 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 804,588 US residents.
Is Jah a common name?
We classify Jah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 430 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jah was 2022, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jah is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jah 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.