Fun Facts About the Name Yair
- More than 5 thousand babies named Yair: U.S. records list 5,041 babies given the name Yair from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yair Mean?
Yair is a Hebrew name meaning "he will give light" or "he will illuminate." It comes from the Hebrew root or (אוֹר), "light," in the causative verb form ya'ir (יָאִיר), which means "he will give light" or "he will enlighten." The name is a verbal statement about giving light, not the noun "light" itself. The same root lies behind other Hebrew names such as Or and Orah, which are separate names with their own histories.
English Bibles traditionally spell the name Jair, following Greek and Latin forms of the Hebrew; Yair is a transliteration that reflects the modern Hebrew pronunciation.
Yair Name History & Origins
Yair appears in the Hebrew Bible in several unrelated episodes. The best-known bearer is Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel for twenty-two years; Judges 10:3 - 5 records that he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and held thirty towns in Gilead known as Havvoth-jair, "the villages of Jair." A second Jair, a son of Manasseh, is credited with capturing settlements in Gilead that also took the name Havvoth-jair (Numbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14). A third appears in the genealogy of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:21 - 23), and the book of Esther identifies Mordecai as the son of Jair (Esther 2:5).
In the New Testament the name passes into Greek as Iairos, rendered in English as Jairus, the synagogue leader in Mark 5 whose daughter is raised by Jesus. The Hebrew consonants and vowels behind this Greek form are the same as those of Yair, so the two English spellings reflect the same name at different stages of transmission.
The name remained in use in Jewish communities, and with the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language in the twentieth century it became a standard given name in Israel. It is also used in Latin America, where it is sometimes written Yahir or Yair. The biblical spelling Jair and the transliteration Yair continue to appear side by side in English.
How Popular is the Name Yair?
Yair recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2006. Its best rank was #706 in 2006.
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 | #1,450 | 124 | 0.0073% |
| 2024 | #1,407 | 133 | 0.0078% |
| 2023 | #1,142 | 184 | 0.0108% |
| 2022 | #1,386 | 135 | 0.0077% |
| 2021 | #1,528 | 116 | 0.0066% |
| 2020 | #1,553 | 107 | 0.0062% |
| 2019 | #1,192 | 161 | 0.0090% |
| 2018 | #1,121 | 173 | 0.0095% |
| 2017 | #1,230 | 150 | 0.0081% |
| 2016 | #1,233 | 152 | 0.0080% |
| 2015 | #1,160 | 161 | 0.0084% |
| 2014 | #1,100 | 174 | 0.0091% |
| 2013 | #971 | 207 | 0.0109% |
| 2012 | #1,129 | 163 | 0.0086% |
| 2011 | #1,003 | 194 | 0.0102% |
| 2010 | #975 | 203 | 0.0106% |
| 2009 | #837 | 259 | 0.0131% |
| 2008 | #834 | 262 | 0.0128% |
| 2007 | #753 | 295 | 0.0142% |
| 2006 | #706 | 311 | 0.0151% |
| 2005 | #759 | 262 | 0.0131% |
| 2004 | #742 | 252 | 0.0127% |
| 2003 | #717 | 259 | 0.0131% |
| 2002 | #1,243 | 110 | 0.0057% |
| 2001 | #1,615 | 74 | 0.0038% |
| 2000 | #2,085 | 49 | 0.0025% |
| 1999 | #2,604 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1998 | #2,445 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1997 | #2,021 | 45 | 0.0024% |
| 1996 | #3,104 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1995 | #2,844 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 1994 | #3,106 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1993 | #3,242 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1992 | #3,912 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1991 | #2,986 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 1990 | #4,163 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1989 | #4,017 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1988 | #5,737 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #4,952 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1986 | #4,126 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1985 | #7,560 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #3,693 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1983 | #4,493 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1982 | #3,277 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1980 | #4,486 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1979 | #7,057 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #4,548 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #5,575 | 6 | 0.0004% |
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 Yair Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
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.
✦ Yair's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yair's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.