Jubal
An English masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Hebrew root meaning "stream" or "ramlike".
Name Census estimates that about 759 living Americans carry the first name Jubal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jubal today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jubal births was 1977 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jubal. 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
759
~ 1 in 451,587 Americans
Peak year
1977
22 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,293
Tracked since 1956
Popularity
Jubal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jubal from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 146 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Jubal remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jubal 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 Jubal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jubals live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jubal
The name Jubal has its origins in the Hebrew language and is found in the Book of Genesis, one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. It is derived from the Hebrew word "yubal" which means "stream" or "melody".
In Genesis 4:21, Jubal is mentioned as the son of Lamech and Adah, and he is described as "the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe". This biblical reference suggests that Jubal was the first musician and the inventor of musical instruments.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jubal is found in the Jewish Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. The Talmud mentions Jubal as a skilled musician and describes him as the inventor of various musical instruments.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Jubal:
1. Jubal Early (1816-1894), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th Governor of Virginia from 1839 to 1841.
2. Jubal Anderson Early (1816-1894), a Confederate general during the American Civil War, known for his role in the Valley Campaigns of 1864.
3. Jubal Sackett (1799-1868), an American pioneer and frontiersman who played a significant role in the exploration and settlement of the American West.
4. Jubal Harshaw, a fictional character in Robert A. Heinlein's science fiction novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", portrayed as a renowned lawyer and philosopher.
5. Jubal Brown (1765-1846), an American pioneer and frontiersman who explored and settled in the regions of present-day Kentucky and Tennessee.
The name Jubal has been associated with music, creativity, and exploration throughout history, reflecting its biblical origins and the legacy of its notable bearers.
People
Jubal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jubal 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
Jubal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jubal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 759 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jubal 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 451,587 US residents.
Is Jubal a common name?
We classify Jubal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 803 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jubal most popular?
The single biggest year for Jubal was 1977, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jubal is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jubal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jubal 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.