Fun Facts About the Name Jabez
- More than 1 thousand babies named Jabez: U.S. records list 1,134 babies given the name Jabez from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Jabez Mean?
Jabez is a Hebrew name from the Bible, written Yaʿbēṣ (יַעְבֵּץ). It is generally explained through the Hebrew root ʿ-ṣ-b, the root behind ʿetsev ("pain, sorrow") and the verb ʿatsav ("to hurt, to grieve"). The usual short gloss is "he causes pain" or "sorrow."
The book of 1 Chronicles links the name to that word group: his mother says, "Because I bore him in pain" (1 Chronicles 4:9), using ʿotsev, a word close in sound to the name. That looks like a wordplay on the name rather than a plain translation of it, and for this reason some readers treat the precise derivation as uncertain. No competing explanation has gained wide acceptance, and the name does not appear to be a compound with a divine element of the kind common in other Hebrew names.
Jabez Name History & Origins
Jabez appears in the Hebrew Bible in the genealogies of the tribe of Judah, in the book of 1 Chronicles. The best-known passage, 1 Chronicles 4:9 - 10, introduces him as a man "more honorable than his brothers" and records his prayer asking God to bless him, enlarge his territory, and keep him from harm. The books of Chronicles are commonly dated to the Persian period, after the Babylonian exile, although they preserve older genealogical material.
A separate mention is a place called Jabez in 1 Chronicles 2:55, where families of scribes are said to have lived; the verse connects them with the Kenites. It is usually understood as a town in Judah, but the Bible does not locate it and its site is not known.
Outside these two verses, the name has no prominent bearer in Jewish or Christian tradition, and it stayed uncommon as a personal name. It entered English Bibles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in the form "Jabez" and is used occasionally in English-speaking Christian communities. In 2000 the American writer Bruce Wilkinson published The Prayer of Jabez, a short devotional book based on 1 Chronicles 4:10, which made the passage familiar to a wide readership.
How Popular is the Name Jabez?
Jabez recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2002. Its best rank was #988 in 1880.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,481 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2024 | #5,989 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #7,457 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #6,279 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2021 | #5,635 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2020 | #4,602 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2019 | #4,391 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2018 | #4,523 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2017 | #4,032 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2016 | #4,141 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2015 | #4,123 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2014 | #3,725 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2013 | #2,913 | 39 | 0.0021% |
| 2012 | #3,262 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 2011 | #2,682 | 45 | 0.0024% |
| 2010 | #2,844 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 2009 | #2,863 | 42 | 0.0021% |
| 2008 | #3,376 | 33 | 0.0016% |
| 2007 | #2,702 | 45 | 0.0022% |
| 2006 | #2,804 | 41 | 0.0020% |
| 2005 | #2,067 | 60 | 0.0030% |
| 2004 | #2,062 | 58 | 0.0029% |
| 2003 | #1,706 | 72 | 0.0036% |
| 2002 | #1,312 | 102 | 0.0053% |
| 2001 | #1,391 | 90 | 0.0046% |
| 2000 | #9,562 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #8,201 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1998 | #8,919 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #6,859 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #4,366 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1994 | #7,275 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #7,116 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1992 | #7,847 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #4,063 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1988 | #7,744 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #5,732 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #5,577 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #5,396 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #6,737 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #5,778 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #4,685 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1979 | #4,201 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #5,353 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #6,249 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1975 | #4,099 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1971 | #5,245 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #3,053 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1921 | #4,089 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1919 | #4,474 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #3,684 | 6 | 0.0007% |
| 1884 | #1,050 | 5 | 0.0044% |
| 1880 | #988 | 5 | 0.0045% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Jabez Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are honest, benevolent, brilliant and often inventive, full of high inspirations. You are courageous, honest, determined, original and creative. You are a leader, especially for a cause. Sometimes you do not care to finish what you start, and may leave details to others. You can do well in position of authority, and prospers in intellectual and professional fields. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Jabez's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Jabez's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.