Given name
Midian
“strife”·“place of judgment”
Midian is used as a given name.
Original Hebrewמדין
Meaning & origin
What it means
As a biblical name, Midian means “strife” or “place of judgment.”
From biblical name research
Where it comes from
Midian is a biblical name from Hebrew.
From biblical name research
How it developed
From the Hebrew verb din (דין), “to judge or govern.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2008. 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 Midian appears in Genesis 25:2, Genesis 37:28, Genesis 37:36 and 2 other passages.
- Genesis 25:2
- Genesis 37:28
- Genesis 37:36
- Exodus 2:15
- Numbers 31:1-18
From biblical name research
Midian through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11
- 11 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 6 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2018. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 137 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.
Midian’s family of names
See also 9
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Danielshares a root
- Jadonshares a root
- Danshares a root
- Dinahshares a root
- Madonshares a root
- Abidanshares a root
- Middinshares a root
- Hashbaddanahshares a root
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Similar names
If you love Midian, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sidon
“fishery” · “hunting place”
>99% boys
Jaaziah
“Yah strengthens”
92% boys · 8% girls
Hilkiah
“portion of Yah”
>99% boys
Abaddon
“destructive one” · “place of destruction”
>99% boys
Mattan
“gift”
>99% boys
Eldad
“God has loved” · “whom God loves”
>99% boys
Akan
“but perhaps twist”
>99% boys
Jehovah
“my lord”
>99% boys