Given name & surname
Jair
“God enlightens”
Jair is a variant of Jairus. One Hebrew interpretation is “God enlightens.”
Original Hebrewיאיר
Meaning & origin
What it means
Jair is a variant of Jairus. One Hebrew interpretation is “God enlightens.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Jair is a variant of Jairus. An origin associated with Jairus is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Middle English Jair, from Ancient Greek Ἰάϊρ, from Biblical Hebrew יָאִיר (yāʾîr, “he will light up”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Jair appears in 1 Chronicles 20:5.
- Numbers 32:41
- 2 Samuel 20:26
- Judges 10:3
- Esther 2:5
- 1 Chronicles 20:5
From biblical name research
Jair through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 7,269
- 7,258 boys · 11 girls
- Most popular year
- 2003
- 480 babies
- 2025
- 170
- #1,193 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −7%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 170 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,193 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 7.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 480 in 2003. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (36). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,898 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jair’s family of names
In English usage, Jair shares an earlier linguistic root with Yair. In English usage, Jair has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Jairo. In English usage, Jair has a related form in YAHIR.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jair has relatives in 12 languages.
13 related names in 12 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 16
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Jair
- Jair Bolsonaro38th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil (2019–2023)born 1955
- JairzinhoBrazilian footballer and manager (born 1944)
- Jair da CostaBrazilian footballer (1940–2025)
- JairBrazilian footballer and manager (1921-2005)
- Jair MarinhoBrazilian footballer (1936–2020)
- JairBrazilian association football playerborn 1988
- Jair MarrufoAmerican association football refereeborn 1977
- Jair CunhaBrazilian footballer (born 2005)
- Jair Céspedesfootballerborn 1984
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Jair, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Abiezer
“my father is help” · “father of help”
>99% boys
Kaleb
“resembling an aggressive dog”
>99% boys
Nethaniah
“Yah has given”
>99% boys
Zechariah
“God has remembered”
>99% boys
Tahan
“encampment”
>99% boys
Jaiden
Jaiden is a unisex given name.
95% boys · 5% girls
Jagger
“one who carts provisions”
96% boys · 4% girls
Jadir
>99% boys