Fun Facts About the Name Obediah
- 225 babies named Obediah: U.S. records list 225 babies given the name Obediah from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Obediah Mean?
Obediah is an English variant spelling of Obadiah, a name from biblical Hebrew meaning "servant of Yahweh" - that is, a servant or worshiper of God. It comes from two Hebrew elements: ʿeved (עֶבֶד), "servant" or "slave," and Yah (יָהּ), a shortened form of the divine name. The Hebrew form of the name is עֹבַדְיָה, usually transliterated Ovadyah or Obhadyah. The literal sense is "servant of Yah," which English Bibles and reference works customarily render as "servant of the Lord" or "servant of God." The spelling Obediah does not change the meaning; it is the same name written with a different medial vowel.
Obediah Name History & Origins
The Hebrew name Ovadyah appears in the Hebrew Bible for several individuals. The best known is the prophet Obadiah, whose book is the shortest in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Other bearers include the palace official who hid a hundred prophets from Queen Jezebel (1 Kings 18) and a gatekeeper named in the books of Chronicles. Through the Greek Septuagint (where the name appears as Obdiou) and the Latin Vulgate (Abdias), the name passed into the biblical traditions of European languages.
In English, Old Testament names such as Obadiah gained ground after the Protestant Reformation, when English-speaking Protestants, especially Puritans, commonly gave their children biblical names. Obediah is one of the variant spellings that appears in English-language records in Britain and North America. The change from the a of Obadiah to the e of Obediah reflects the way the unstressed middle syllable was written and pronounced in English; both spellings refer to the same Hebrew name and are used interchangeably in some families and records. The name should not be confused with unrelated names that merely look similar.
How Popular is the Name Obediah?
Obediah 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 1954. Its best rank was #2,475 in 1912.
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 | #13,364 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2024 | #11,902 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #11,857 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2021 | #10,484 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2020 | #11,600 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #13,576 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #9,449 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #13,505 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #10,458 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2010 | #13,718 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #12,152 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #13,851 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 2002 | #11,958 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #10,354 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #9,749 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #9,204 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1981 | #6,989 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #5,850 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #6,493 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #6,560 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #5,441 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #5,236 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #3,466 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1956 | #4,315 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1954 | #3,107 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1949 | #3,599 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1938 | #3,084 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1935 | #3,541 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1934 | #4,057 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1931 | #4,167 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1930 | #3,500 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1929 | #4,382 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1925 | #4,070 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1924 | #3,749 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1920 | #4,779 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1919 | #4,615 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #3,773 | 6 | 0.0007% |
| 1914 | #2,833 | 7 | 0.0011% |
| 1912 | #2,475 | 6 | 0.0014% |
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 Obediah Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are patient, persevering and strong willed. You are a good student, absorbing knowledge easily and retaining it well. You are either a saint or a sinner. You tend to hold things inside and suffer in silence. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
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.
✦ Obediah's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Obediah's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.