Jeshaiah
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "Yahweh is salvation" or "the Lord is salvation".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Jeshaiah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jeshaiah today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jeshaiah births was 2009 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jeshaiah. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jeshaiah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2009
5 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2012 SSA rank
#13,135
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Jeshaiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jeshaiah from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 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
Jeshaiah 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 Jeshaiah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jeshaiah
The name Jeshaiah has its origins in Hebrew and is a combination of the words "Yah" and "yesha," which together mean "God is salvation" or "salvation of the Lord." It is believed to have first appeared in ancient Jewish texts and scriptures, such as the Hebrew Bible, around the 6th century BCE.
This name was likely used by Jewish communities in the ancient Middle East, particularly in regions like Judea and Israel. It may have been inspired by or derived from similar Hebrew names like Yeshua or Yeshayahu, which also incorporate the root "yesha" and have connotations of divine salvation or deliverance.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jeshaiah was a Levite mentioned in the Book of Ezra in the Hebrew Bible. He is listed among those who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity in the 5th century BCE.
In the Middle Ages, a notable figure named Jeshaiah ben Abraham Halevi Yerushalmi lived in the 13th century CE. He was a Jewish scholar and philosopher who wrote on subjects like metaphysics and theology, and his works were influential in the Jewish communities of Spain and Provence.
During the Renaissance period, a Jewish rabbi and scholar named Jeshaiah ben Joseph Trani, also known as the Rid, lived in the 16th century CE. He was a prominent figure in the Jewish community of Turkey and wrote extensively on Jewish law and Talmudic studies.
In the 17th century, there was a Jewish merchant and traveler named Jeshaiah ben Israel Halevi who journeyed through parts of Europe and the Middle East. He wrote detailed accounts of his travels and observations, which provided valuable insights into the lives of Jewish communities during that time.
Another notable figure named Jeshaiah was a 19th-century Polish-Jewish author and educator, Jeshaiah Trunk. He wrote several works on Jewish history and culture, including a book titled "The Wandering Jew," which explored the experiences and traditions of Jewish communities in different parts of the world.
While the name Jeshaiah may have fallen out of widespread use in more recent times, it remains an important part of the historical and cultural heritage of the Jewish people, reflecting their deep-rooted belief in the concept of divine salvation and deliverance.
People
Jeshaiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jeshaiah 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
Jeshaiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jeshaiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jeshaiah 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Jeshaiah a common name?
We classify Jeshaiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jeshaiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jeshaiah was 2009, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jeshaiah is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Jeshaiah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jeshaiah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jeshaiah 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 Jeshaiah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jeshaiah 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 Jeshaiah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Jeshaiah as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Jeshaiah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.