Given name & surname
Jude
“praised”·“one who praises God”
Jude connects a biblical short form with literature and music.
Original GreekΙουδας
Meaning & origin
What it means
Jude is a variant of Judah. Interpretations include “praised” and “one who praises God” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Jude is a variant of Judah. An origin associated with Judah is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Jude is used as a shortened form of Judas.
The story
The shorter form helps distinguish the apostle Jude from Judas Iscariot. Thomas Hardy used it for Jude the Obscure, and the 1968 song Hey Jude added a later musical association.
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Jude appears in John 14:22, Jude 1:1, Luke 6:16 and 1 other passage.
- John 14:22
- Jude 1:1
- Luke 6:16
- Acts 1:13
From biblical name research
Jude through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 57,006
- 53,982 boys · 3,024 girls
- Most popular year
- 2015
- 2,806 babies
- 2025
- 2,477
- #155 for boys · #2,041 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −6%
- Steady
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 95% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,384 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 155 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 6.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,668 in 2015. It also appeared in 93 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (235). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 42,715 as a first name in 2020; 2,747 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.
Jude’s family of names
In English usage, Jude is a short form of Judas. In French usage, Jude has a conventional equivalent in the English form Judy. Jude has a related form in Judah.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jude has relatives in 3 languages.
4 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 23
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Judithshares a root
- Jodysee also
- Judeashares a root
- Eliudshares a root
- Jedaiahshares a root
- Ehudshares a root
- Vaniahshares a root
- Ohadshares a root
Show 15 moreShow fewer
People named Jude
- Jude BellinghamEnglish footballer (born 2003)
- Thaddeus OkoloNigerian Roman Catholic archbishop and apostolic nuncioborn 1956
- Jude CiccolellaAmerican actorborn 1947
- Jude MonyeNigerian sprinterborn 1973
- Jude HillBritish actorborn 2010
- Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa'ichiTanzanian Roman-Catholic archbishopborn 1954
- Jude DeverauxAmerican writerborn 1947
- Jude Soonsup-BellThai association football player (born 2004)
- F1NN5TERBritish Twitch streamer (born 2000)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Jude, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Luke
“man from Lucania” · “a man from Lucania”
>99% boys
Josue
“God . is salvation” · “God is salvation”
>99% boys
Jonah
“dove”
99% boys · 1% girls
Jeremiah
“appointed by God” · “one who is exalted by the Lord”
>99% boys
Abel
“the life force; breath”
>99% boys
Jesus
“God is my salvation”
>99% boys
Jonas
“dove”
>99% boys
Gideon
“one who cuts down” · “a mighty warrior; one who fells trees”
>99% boys