Fun Facts About the Name Jud
- 628 babies named Jud: U.S. records list 628 babies given the name Jud from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Jud Mean?
Jud is an English masculine name, used mainly as a short form of Judah or Jude. Both descend from Hebrew Yehudah (יְהוּדָה), whose meaning is commonly given as "praised" or "let him be praised," from the root yadah, "to praise, to give thanks." The Hebrew name entered Greek as Ioudas and Latin as Iudas, and English later divided these into Judah for the Old Testament figure and Judas or Jude for New Testament ones.
A second, separate line reaches Jud through the English name Judd, recorded in the Middle Ages as Judde and generally explained as a pet form of Jordan, with Jude sometimes offered instead as its source. Jud can stand for any of these longer names, so its sense depends on which one lies behind it.
Jud Name History & Origins
Clipped forms like Jud are characteristic of English naming, which reduces longer personal names to a single stressed syllable - Dan from Daniel, Sam from Samuel, and here Jud from Judah, Jude, or Judd. As a written name, Jud appears mostly in informal or familiar use, often as a nickname attached to a fuller form such as Judah, Jude, or Judson.
Behind the short form lie two different histories. The Judah and Jude line is biblical: Judah was a son of Jacob and Leah, and the name became that of the tribe and later the southern kingdom of Judah. In the New Testament the Greek form Ioudas names several people, including Judas Iscariot, and the brief Epistle of Jude is attributed to another of them. Because of Judas Iscariot, English speakers have generally preferred Jude and Judah to Judas. The Judd line is medieval English: Judde was used as a personal name in the Middle Ages and continues as a surname, from which the given name Judd also derives.
Well-known fictional uses include Jud Fry in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! (1943) and Jud Crandall in Stephen King's novel Pet Sematary (1983).
How Popular is the Name Jud?
Jud has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1961. Its best rank was #1,984 in 1948.
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 | #11,303 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2020 | #10,042 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #13,101 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #9,258 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2014 | #13,017 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #11,427 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #13,423 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #8,517 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #8,130 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1992 | #6,391 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #7,615 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #7,549 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #7,058 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #4,314 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1979 | #4,229 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #3,722 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1977 | #2,729 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1975 | #3,147 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1974 | #3,442 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1973 | #3,324 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #2,746 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1971 | #2,417 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1970 | #2,248 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1969 | #2,485 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #2,662 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1967 | #3,401 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1966 | #2,390 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1965 | #3,402 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #2,749 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1963 | #2,476 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1962 | #2,758 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1961 | #2,037 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1960 | #2,073 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1959 | #2,932 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1958 | #2,439 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1957 | #2,326 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1956 | #2,435 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1955 | #2,262 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1954 | #2,371 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1953 | #2,345 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1952 | #2,319 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1951 | #2,434 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1950 | #2,670 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1949 | #2,525 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1948 | #1,984 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1947 | #2,769 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1946 | #2,617 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1945 | #2,872 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1944 | #3,677 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1943 | #2,848 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1942 | #3,394 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1941 | #2,566 | 9 | 0.0007% |
| 1940 | #3,297 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1939 | #2,715 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1938 | #3,785 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #2,369 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1934 | #2,845 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1931 | #4,053 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1930 | #3,803 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #4,286 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #3,556 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1925 | #3,574 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1924 | #3,673 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1921 | #4,103 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #4,048 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #4,485 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1918 | #2,789 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1917 | #3,397 | 7 | 0.0008% |
| 1916 | #4,219 | 5 | 0.0006% |
| 1915 | #4,108 | 5 | 0.0006% |
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 Jud 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. Emergencies may raise your intuitive abilities in order to resolve conflict or situation. You become very creative under the pressure, and have quite original ideas to make the best out of 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.
✦ Jud's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Jud's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.