Judi
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "praised" or "praised one".
Name Census estimates that about 6,875 living Americans carry the first name Judi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Judi today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Judi births was 1947 (607 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Judi. 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
- • The typical person named Judi is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Judis were born before 1970.
People living today
6.9K
~ 1 in 49,855 Americans
Peak year
1947
607 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,550
Tracked since 1930
Popularity
Judi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Judi from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 3,940 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Judi 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 Judi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Judis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Judi, while Vermont, South Dakota, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 179 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Judi
The name Judi is a variant of the Hebrew name Judith, which means "woman from Judea" or "praised." Judith was a renowned biblical figure, celebrated for her courage and faith in saving the Israelites from the Assyrians. The Book of Judith, part of the Septuagint and the Vulgate, recounts her story.
The name Judi likely emerged as a shortened form of Judith during the Middle Ages, when variations of traditional names became more common. It may have originated in regions where Hebrew and Arabic cultures intersected, such as the Iberian Peninsula or parts of the Mediterranean.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Judi can be found in the 13th-century Hebrew text, the Zohar, where a Kabbalistic figure named Judi is mentioned. In the 16th century, a Jewish woman named Judi da Costa lived in Portugal during the Inquisition period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Judi. In the 11th century, Judi ben Sheshet was a renowned Spanish rabbi and scholar. In the 15th century, Judi Farissol was a Jewish philosopher and physician in Italy.
During the Renaissance, Judi Nasco was a renowned Italian painter active in the late 16th century. In the 17th century, Judi Levi Modena was a prominent Jewish poet and scholar in Italy.
In more recent times, Judi Dench, born in 1934, is a highly acclaimed British actress known for her roles in various Shakespeare productions and iconic films like "Shakespeare in Love" and the James Bond series.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Judi
People
Judi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Judi 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
Judi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Judi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,875 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Judi 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 49,855 US residents.
Is Judi a common name?
We classify Judi as "Rare". It ranks above 97.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,341 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Judi most popular?
The single biggest year for Judi was 1947, when 607 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Judi is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Judi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Judi in the SSA data are female. 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.