Jeshurun
An affectionate poetic name for Israel meaning "upright one."
Name Census estimates that about 110 living Americans carry the first name Jeshurun. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jeshurun today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jeshurun births was 2019 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jeshurun. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jeshurun with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
110
~ 1 in 3,115,949 Americans
Peak year
2019
10 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,357
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Jeshurun: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jeshurun from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 42 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
Jeshurun 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 Jeshurun 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 Jeshurun
The name Jeshurun has its origins in the Hebrew language. It first appeared in the Old Testament of the Bible as a symbolic name for the Israelites or the people of Israel. The name is derived from the Hebrew word "yashar," which means "upright" or "righteous."
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses refers to the Israelites as "Jeshurun" when addressing them. This symbolic name was likely used to emphasize their covenant relationship with God and their obligation to live uprightly before Him. The name Jeshurun became associated with the ideal of righteous living and devotion to God.
While Jeshurun was initially a symbolic name, it eventually became adopted as a given name among some Jewish communities. One of the earliest recorded uses of Jeshurun as a personal name dates back to the 16th century, with Jeshurun ben Joseph, a Jewish scholar and author from Italy.
Another notable figure with the name Jeshurun was Jeshurun Cardozo (1768-1868), a Sephardic Jewish leader and philanthropist from the Netherlands. He played a significant role in the emancipation of Jews in the Netherlands and advocated for their civil rights.
In the 17th century, a prominent Rabbi named Jeshurun Pardo (1564-1647) lived in Venice, Italy. He was a respected scholar and author of several works on Jewish law and philosophy.
Jeshurun ben Elijah (1594-1657) was a Jewish scholar and kabbalist from Poland. He wrote extensively on the mystical and esoteric aspects of Judaism and was highly regarded for his teachings.
Another figure with the name Jeshurun was Jeshurun Luzzatto (1616-1677), an Italian Jewish scholar and philosopher. He made significant contributions to the study of Jewish ethics and the interpretation of the Kabbalah.
While the name Jeshurun has its roots in the Hebrew language and biblical tradition, it has been used across various Jewish communities throughout history. The name carries a symbolic meaning of uprightness and righteousness, reflecting the ideal of living a virtuous life in accordance with one's faith.
People
Jeshurun + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jeshurun 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
Jeshurun: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jeshurun?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 110 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jeshurun 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 3,115,949 US residents.
Is Jeshurun a common name?
We classify Jeshurun as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 111 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jeshurun most popular?
The single biggest year for Jeshurun was 2019, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jeshurun is about 12 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 Jeshurun in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jeshurun a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jeshurun 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 Jeshurun still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jeshurun 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 Jeshurun 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 Americans are named Jeshurun?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.