Jedadiah
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved of the Lord".
Name Census estimates that about 517 living Americans carry the first name Jedadiah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jedadiah today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jedadiah births was 1979 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jedadiah. 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
517
~ 1 in 662,968 Americans
Peak year
1979
41 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2018 SSA rank
#13,028
Tracked since 1977
Census
Jedadiah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 407 people with the first name Jedadiah, which placed it at #23,894 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#23,894
National first-name rank
People counted
407
407 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jedadiah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jedadiah is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Black (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jedadiah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jedadiah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.1% · 318
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 32
- Black or African American6.4% · 26
- Two or more races5.2% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 3
Popularity
Jedadiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jedadiah from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 220 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jedadiah 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 Jedadiah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jedadiahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jedadiah
The name Jedadiah is derived from the Hebrew language and has its roots in the Old Testament. It is a combination of two Hebrew words, "yadah" meaning "to praise" and "Yah" being a shortened form of the name of God, Yahweh. The name can be translated to mean "praised by God" or "one who praises God."
The earliest known use of the name Jedadiah dates back to the 6th century BCE. It is mentioned in the book of 1 Chronicles in the Old Testament, where it is given to one of the sons of King David. In this biblical account, Jedadiah is listed among the sons born to David in Jerusalem.
Throughout history, the name Jedadiah has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Jedadiah Morse (1761-1826), an American minister and geographer who is considered the father of American geography. He was a leading figure in the religious and intellectual life of New England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Another prominent figure with this name was Jedadiah Strutt (1726-1797), an English inventor and entrepreneur who played a significant role in the development of the cotton industry during the Industrial Revolution. He is credited with inventing several machines and techniques that revolutionized the spinning process.
In the literary realm, Jedadiah Cleishbotham is a fictional character created by Sir Walter Scott in his novel "The Tales of My Landlord," published in 1816. This character served as a narrator for some of Scott's works, lending a distinct voice and perspective to his stories.
Moving forward in time, Jedadiah Tash (1819-1905) was an American politician who served as the 28th Governor of Ohio from 1867 to 1871. He played a significant role in the reconstruction efforts following the American Civil War.
Another notable figure was Jedadiah Lowndes (1857-1951), a British artist and engraver who gained recognition for his etchings and engravings depicting scenes from rural life in England. His works were widely exhibited and are held in numerous museum collections around the world.
While the name Jedadiah has biblical origins and a rich history, it has been relatively uncommon in modern times, likely due to its unique spelling and pronunciation. However, it remains a testament to the enduring influence of Judeo-Christian traditions and the significance of names in conveying meaning and identity.
People
Jedadiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jedadiah 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
Jedadiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jedadiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 517 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jedadiah 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 662,968 US residents.
Is Jedadiah a common name?
We classify Jedadiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 537 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jedadiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jedadiah was 1979, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jedadiah is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jedadiah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 407 people with the name Jedadiah, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,894 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jedadiah in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jedadiah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jedadiah leans strongly male. 400 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 5 female bearers (1.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jedadiah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jedadiah is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Black (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jedadiah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jedadiah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (318 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jedadiah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jedadiah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jedadiah 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.
Is Jedadiah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jedadiah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jedadiah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Jedadiah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.