Given name
Jairus
“God enlightens”
Jairus is used as a given name. One Hebrew interpretation is “God enlightens.”
Original GreekΙαειρος
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “God enlightens.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
From the Hebrew verb 'or (אור), “to be or give light.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1933. 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 Jairus appears in Mark 5:22.
From biblical name research
Jairus through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,741
- 2,741 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2015
- 83 babies
- 2025
- 50
- #2,622 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −22%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 50 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,622 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 83 in 2015. In 2025, Indiana had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,167 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.
Jairus’s family of names
In English usage, Jairus shares an earlier linguistic root with Jair. Jairus has a related form in Jairo. In Latin usage, Jairus has a conventional equivalent in the English form Jair.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 9
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Aaronshares a root
- Urielshares a root
- Uriahshares a root
- Nileshares a root
- Urijahshares a root
- Urishares a root
- Shedeurshares a root
- Urimshares a root
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People named Jairus
- Jairus ByrdAmerican football player (born 1986)
- Jairus AquinoFilipino actor (born 1999)
- Jairus LylesAmerican basketball player (born 1995)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Jairus, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Oseias
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