Fun Facts About the Name Yocheved
- More than 2 thousand babies named Yocheved: U.S. records list 2,409 babies given the name Yocheved from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yocheved Mean?
Yocheved is a Hebrew name generally understood to mean "God is glory" or "YHWH is glory." It appears to join a shortened form of the divine name YHWH - the yo- element also found in names such as Yehonatan - with a word from the Hebrew root k-b-d, "to be heavy." That root yields kaved ("heavy") and kavod ("glory, honor, weightiness"), so the name is commonly explained as "YHWH is glory" or "God is honor." The standard reading takes the second element as kavod; scholars differ on the precise grammatical form of the whole name, and some proposals treat the second element as a verb form rather than a noun.
Yocheved Name History & Origins
Yocheved is the Hebrew name of the mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. The book of Exodus identifies her as the wife of Amram and a daughter of Levi (Exodus 2:1; 6:20), and Numbers 26:59 states that she was born to Levi in Egypt. Exodus 6:20 describes the marriage of Amram and Yocheved as a union between close relatives. The biblical text preserves the name in its earliest known Hebrew form.
Greek-speaking Jews rendered the name as Iōchabed (Ἰωχαβέδ) in the Septuagint, and the Latin Vulgate used Jochabed. English Bibles, from Tyndale through the King James Version, spell it Jochebed. The Hebrew form Yocheved remained in Jewish use and is the ordinary modern Hebrew form of the name.
Later Jewish tradition, in midrash and rabbinic chronologies, expands her story with details such as her advanced age at Moses' birth. These are traditional elaborations rather than statements found in the biblical text.
How Popular is the Name Yocheved?
Yocheved 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 2012. Its best rank was #2,144 in 2012.
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 | #2,996 | 56 | 0.0035% |
| 2024 | #2,398 | 76 | 0.0047% |
| 2023 | #2,672 | 66 | 0.0041% |
| 2022 | #2,636 | 67 | 0.0041% |
| 2021 | #2,554 | 69 | 0.0042% |
| 2020 | #2,238 | 81 | 0.0050% |
| 2019 | #2,727 | 63 | 0.0038% |
| 2018 | #2,272 | 81 | 0.0048% |
| 2017 | #2,506 | 72 | 0.0042% |
| 2016 | #2,537 | 71 | 0.0040% |
| 2015 | #2,430 | 76 | 0.0043% |
| 2014 | #2,921 | 59 | 0.0033% |
| 2013 | #2,935 | 58 | 0.0033% |
| 2012 | #2,144 | 89 | 0.0051% |
| 2011 | #3,451 | 47 | 0.0027% |
| 2010 | #2,492 | 75 | 0.0042% |
| 2009 | #3,511 | 47 | 0.0026% |
| 2008 | #3,053 | 57 | 0.0030% |
| 2007 | #3,477 | 48 | 0.0025% |
| 2006 | #3,222 | 52 | 0.0027% |
| 2005 | #3,122 | 51 | 0.0028% |
| 2004 | #3,126 | 50 | 0.0027% |
| 2003 | #2,955 | 52 | 0.0028% |
| 2002 | #2,779 | 55 | 0.0031% |
| 2001 | #3,253 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 2000 | #3,736 | 35 | 0.0019% |
| 1999 | #3,047 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 1998 | #3,067 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 1997 | #3,544 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 1996 | #3,939 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1995 | #3,021 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 1994 | #3,534 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 1993 | #3,155 | 37 | 0.0020% |
| 1992 | #3,866 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1991 | #2,658 | 46 | 0.0025% |
| 1990 | #3,154 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1989 | #4,016 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1988 | #2,643 | 41 | 0.0023% |
| 1987 | #3,256 | 29 | 0.0017% |
| 1986 | #3,276 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1985 | #2,936 | 32 | 0.0019% |
| 1984 | #2,990 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 1983 | #4,685 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1982 | #3,778 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 1981 | #4,340 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1980 | #3,503 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 1979 | #4,049 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1978 | #3,923 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1977 | #4,233 | 17 | 0.0011% |
| 1976 | #3,959 | 17 | 0.0012% |
| 1975 | #7,165 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1974 | #8,760 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #3,967 | 16 | 0.0011% |
| 1972 | #4,298 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1971 | #5,540 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1970 | #5,816 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1969 | #5,966 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1968 | #8,189 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #7,842 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #7,519 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #4,260 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1956 | #5,947 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1953 | #4,589 | 8 | 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 Yocheved 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.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Yocheved's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yocheved's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.