Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Jihad isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1969. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Jihad through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,063
- 2,058 boys · 5 girls
- Most popular year
- 2000
- 96 babies
- 2025
- 22
- #4,612 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 22 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,612 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 8.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 96 in 2000. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,070 as a first name in 2020; 223 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jihad’s family of names
Jihad may belong to the same name family as JIHADD. This is a tentative spelling connection.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Jihad
- Jihad AyoubLebanese footballerborn 1995
- Jihad AzourLebanese economist and politicianborn 1966
- Jihad MuheisenPalestinian senior security officer1970–2023
- Jehad MostafaAmerican member of al-Shabaabborn 1981
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Jihad, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jiron
Jiron is a surname from Spanish.
>99% boys
Jaaron
>99% boys
Jeshaun
Jeshaun is a masculine given name from English. It is used in French.
>99% boys
Mohamad
“praised, commendable, laudable”
>99% boys
Jacquez
Jacquez is a surname.
>99% boys
Jahray
>99% boys
Jezreel
“The Lord provides”
76% boys · 24% girls
Jibreal
>99% boys