Yahweh
A Hebrew name often attributed to God which translates to "He who is".
Name Census estimates that about 106 living Americans carry the first name Yahweh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yahweh today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yahweh births was 2024 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yahweh. 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
106
~ 1 in 3,233,531 Americans
Peak year
2024
23 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,547
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Yahweh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yahweh from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 57 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
Yahweh 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 Yahweh 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 Yahweh
The name Yahweh originates from ancient Hebrew and is believed to have been derived from the Hebrew verb "hayah," meaning "to be." The name is thought to have been first used as a personal name for the God of the Israelites during the second millennium BCE.
Yahweh is the personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible and is considered one of the most sacred names in Judaism. The name appears numerous times throughout the Old Testament, particularly in the Book of Exodus, where God reveals his name to Moses at the burning bush.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Yahweh can be found in ancient Hebrew inscriptions and texts, such as the Mesha Stele from the 9th century BCE and the Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions from the 8th century BCE. These inscriptions provide evidence of the use of the name Yahweh in ancient Israelite religion and culture.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Yahweh as part of their name or title. One of the most famous is Yahweh Elohim, the Hebrew name for God mentioned in the Book of Genesis. Another notable figure is Yahweh Tsebaoth, which means "Lord of Hosts" and is used to refer to God in the Book of Isaiah.
In the New Testament, Jesus is portrayed as the son of Yahweh, and the name is often used in reference to the God of the Israelites. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, refers to Jesus as having the "name above every name," which some scholars interpret as a reference to the name Yahweh.
Other notable figures with the name Yahweh include Yahweh-Nasi, a Jewish religious leader and prince in the 4th century CE, and Yahweh ben Yahweh, the founder of a religious movement in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.
It is important to note that the name Yahweh is considered sacred in Judaism, and its use is often restricted or avoided out of respect for its holiness. As such, many Jewish texts and writings use alternative names or titles for God, such as Adonai or Hashem, to avoid the direct use of the name Yahweh.
People
Yahweh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yahweh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yahweh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yahweh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 106 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yahweh 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 3,233,531 US residents.
Is Yahweh a common name?
We classify Yahweh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 107 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yahweh most popular?
The single biggest year for Yahweh was 2024, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yahweh is about 6 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 Yahweh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yahweh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yahweh 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 Yahweh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yahweh 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 Yahweh 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 people share the name Yahweh?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.