Nochum
A Hebrew name meaning "comfort" or "consolation".
Name Census estimates that about 280 living Americans carry the first name Nochum. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nochum today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nochum births was 2021 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nochum. 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
280
~ 1 in 1,224,123 Americans
Peak year
2021
20 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,357
Tracked since 1985
Census
Nochum in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 269 people with the first name Nochum, which placed it at #31,704 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
#31,704
National first-name rank
People counted
269
269 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
95.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nochum
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nochum is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Nochum 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 Nochum at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.9% · 258
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 4
- Two or more races1.5% · 4
- Black or African American0.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 1
Popularity
Nochum: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nochum from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 132 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nochum remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nochum 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 Nochum during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nochums live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nochum
The given name Nochum has its origins in the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, dating back to ancient times. It is a variant spelling of the biblical name Nahum, which is derived from the Hebrew word "nacham," meaning "to console" or "to comfort."
This name is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible, where it refers to the prophet Nahum, who lived in the 7th century BCE and whose book is part of the Hebrew scriptures. The book of Nahum contains prophecies and poetic writings that offer consolation and hope to the people of Israel during a time of national crisis.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Nochum was Nochum Chernobler, a prominent Hasidic Rebbe and tzaddik (righteous person) who lived in Ukraine in the late 18th century (1730-1798). He was known for his wisdom, teachings, and commitment to Jewish mysticism.
Another notable figure with the name Nochum was Nochum Sokolow (1859-1936), a Russian-born Zionist leader, writer, and journalist. He played a significant role in the early Zionist movement and advocated for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
In the 19th century, Nochum Mordechai Shaikevitz (1826-1898), a renowned Jewish scholar and author from Belarus, made significant contributions to the study and interpretation of the Talmud and Jewish law.
During the 20th century, Nochum Greidinger (1925-2011), an Israeli businessman and entrepreneur, founded one of the largest cinema chains in Israel and played a crucial role in the development of the country's entertainment industry.
Nochum Arieli (1916-2005), an Israeli politician and former member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament), was also a notable bearer of the name. He was involved in the early years of the state of Israel and served in various governmental positions.
Throughout history, the name Nochum has been associated with individuals from the Jewish community who have made significant contributions to religious, cultural, and political spheres. Its biblical origins and meaning of "consolation" have imbued the name with a sense of comfort and hope, reflecting the resilience and perseverance of the Jewish people.
People
Nochum + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nochum as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nochum: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nochum?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 280 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nochum 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 1,224,123 US residents.
Is Nochum a common name?
We classify Nochum as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 283 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nochum most popular?
The single biggest year for Nochum was 2021, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nochum is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nochum in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 269 people with the name Nochum, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,704 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 Nochum 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 Nochum?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nochum leans strongly male. 261 people counted with this name were male (97.8%), compared with 6 female bearers (2.2%). 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 Nochum?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nochum is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Nochum most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nochum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (258 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 Nochum in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nochum a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nochum 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 Nochum still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nochum 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 Nochum 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 Nochum?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.