Uryah
A masculine name of Hebrew origin signifying "God is my light".
Name Census estimates that about 36 living Americans carry the first name Uryah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Uryah today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Uryah births was 2017 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Uryah. 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 Uryah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
36
~ 1 in 9,520,954 Americans
Peak year
2017
9 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2018 SSA rank
#12,038
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Uryah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Uryah 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 28 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
Uryah 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 Uryah 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 Uryah
The name Uryah is believed to have its origins in Hebrew culture and language. It is derived from the Hebrew word "ur" which means "flame" or "light", and the name "Yah" which is a shortened form of the Hebrew name for God, Yahweh. The name Uryah is often translated as "flame of God" or "light of the Lord".
One of the earliest and most notable mentions of the name Uryah can be found in the Bible. In the Second Book of Samuel, Uryah (also spelled Uriah) was a Hittite soldier who served in the army of King David. He was the husband of Bathsheba, with whom David committed adultery. When Bathsheba became pregnant, David ordered Uryah to be placed on the front lines of battle, where he was killed.
In the ancient Jewish and Christian traditions, Uryah is remembered as a loyal and honorable soldier who was wronged by King David's actions. His story has been interpreted as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of moral integrity.
The name Uryah has been used throughout history, though it has been relatively uncommon. One notable bearer of the name was Uryah ben Shemariah, a Hebrew prophet who lived in the 7th century BCE. He is mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah in the Bible.
In more modern times, Uryah was the name of a 19th-century Hasidic rabbi, Uryah Raphael (1801-1874), who was known for his teachings and writings on Jewish mysticism and spirituality.
Another notable figure named Uryah was Uryah Finkelstein (1914-2006), an Israeli author and journalist who wrote extensively about the history and culture of the Jewish diaspora.
Finally, Uryah Heep was the name of a character in Charles Dickens' novel "David Copperfield" (1850). The character was a villainous and manipulative individual, and his name has become associated with obsequious and insincere behavior.
People
Uryah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Uryah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Uryah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Uryah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Uryah 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 9,520,954 US residents.
Is Uryah a common name?
We classify Uryah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Uryah most popular?
The single biggest year for Uryah was 2017, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Uryah is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Uryah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Uryah 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.