Judah is a masculine given name of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

origin. It is the English form of ''Yehudah'' (), the Hebrew name of the biblical figure Judah, founder of the

Tribe of Judah According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...

and thus, the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

of the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...

and the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Etymology

The Hebrew name for Judah, ''Yehuda'' (יהודה), literally "thanksgiving" or "praise," is a variant form of the root Y-D-H (ידה), "to thank" or "to praise." His birth is recorded at ''Gen.'' 29:35; upon his birth, Leah exclaims, "This time I will praise the LORD/

YHWH The TetragrammatonPronounced ; ; also known as the Tetragram. is the four-letter Hebrew-language theonym (transliterated as YHWH or YHVH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four Hebrew letters, written and read from right to left, a ...

," with the Hebrew word for "I will praise," ''odeh'' (אודה) sharing the same root as ''Yehuda''. Alternatively, Edward Lipiński connected

''yĕhūdā'' with

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

''whd'' / ''wahda'' "cleft, ravine".

Biblical and ancient historical figures

In chronological order: *

Judah (son of Jacob) Judah () was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth of the six sons of Jacob and Leah and the founder of the Tribe of Judah of the Israelites. By extension, he is indirectly the eponym of the Kingdom of Judah, the land of Judea, and the w ...

, fourth son of the Biblical patriarch Jacob * Judah Maccabee or

Judas Maccabeus Judas Maccabaeus or Maccabeus ( ), also known as Judah Maccabee (), was a Jewish priest (''kohen'') and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah ("Ded ...

, Jewish priest who led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE) *

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of sil ...

, Hebrew Yehūḏā ʾĪš-Qǝrīyyōṯ, 'Judah, man of Kerioth' (died c. AD 30), one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus *

Judah ha-Nasi Judah ha-Nasi (, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ‎''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince or Judah the President) or Judah I, known simply as Rebbi or Rabbi, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of ...

, also Judah the Prince or Judah I, Jewish sage and leader (2nd century) *

Judah II Judah II or Nesi'ah I was a Jewish sage who lived in Tiberias in the Land of Israel, in the middle of the third century CE. He is mentioned in the classical works of Judaism's Oral Torah, the Mishnah and Talmud. There he is variously called "Jud ...

, Jewish sage (3rd century) *

Judah III Judah III (or Nesi'ah II; Hebrew: יהודה נשיאה; יודן נשיאה), Yudan Nesiah, was a prominent Jewish sage, who held the office of ''Nasi (Hebrew title), Nasi'' of the ancient Jewish Sanhedrin between about 290 and 320 CE (fourth gene ...

, Jewish sage (3rd and 4th century) * Judah IV, Talmudic sage (4th century) * Judah b. Meremar, Babylonian sage (5th century?)

Saints

* Saint Jude (Thaddeus) the Apostle, one of Twelve, * Saint

Jude, brother of Jesus Jude (alternatively Judas or Judah; ) was a "brother" of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is traditionally identified as the author of the Epistle of Jude, a short epistle which is reckoned among the seven general epistles of the New Te ...

, one of Seventy-two, * Saint Justus (Jude) of Jerusalem, third Bishop of Jerusalem, * Saint Jude Barsabbas, prophet, Church leader, * Saint Jude, one of Holy Maccabean Martyrs, * Saint Jude Cyriacus, bishop of Ancona, * Saint Jude Machabeus, priest and leader, * Saint Jude, son of Jacob, Old Testmanet patriarch, * Saint Jude, host of

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

People with the given name

Judah

In alphabetical order: * Judah P. Benjamin (1811–1884), politician and lawyer in the United States and Confederate States of America * Judah Bergman aka "Jack Kid Berg" (1909–1991), English world champion Hall of Fame junior welterweight boxer *

Judah Loew ben Bezalel Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; 1512 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew language, Hebrew Hebrew abbreviations, acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew'' ...

(1512-1526 – 1609) or Rabbi Loew of Prague, the Maharal, Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic and philosopher * Judah David Bleich (born 1936), American rabbi and authority on Jewish law and ethics *

Judah Folkman Moses Judah Folkman (February 24, 1933 – January 14, 2008) was an American biologist and pediatric surgeon best known for his research on tumor angiogenesis, the process by which a tumor attracts blood vessels to nourish itself and sustain its ...

(1933–2008), American cellular biologist, founder of the field of antiangiogenesis *

Judah Friedlander Judah Friedlander (born March 16, 1969) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for playing the role of writer Frank Rossitano on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock''. Friedlander is also known for his role as Toby Radloff in the film ''Am ...

(born 1969), American actor best known from ''30 Rock'' * Judah Grace (born 2022), American person known for being born on twosday at 2:22 AM. *

Judah Halevi Judah haLevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; ; ; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Sephardic Jewish poet, physician and philosopher. Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets and is celebrated for his secular and religious poems, many of whic ...

(1075–1141), medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet * Judah Hertz (born 1948/49), American real estate investor * Judah Lewis (born 2000 or 2001), American actor *

Judah Leon Magnes Judah Leon Magnes (; July 5, 1877 – October 27, 1948) was a prominent Reform rabbi in both the United States of America and Mandatory Palestine. He is best remembered as a leader in the pacifist movement of the World War I period, his advocacy ...

(1877–1948), rabbi, first President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem * Judah Nagler (born 1980), singer, guitarist, and songwriter for indie-pop band The Velvet Teen * "Judah son of Jesus", name on one of the ossuaries in the 1st-century

Talpiot Tomb The Talpiot Tomb (or Talpiyot Tomb) is a rock-cut tomb discovered in 1980 in the East Talpiot neighborhood, five kilometers (three miles) south of the Old City in East Jerusalem. It contained ten ossuaries, six inscribed with epigraphs, inc ...

Yehuda(h), Yehudi

In alphabetical order of their surname: * Yehuda Alharizi (mid-12th century – 1225), medieval Spanish rabbi, translator, poet and traveller *

Yehuda Amichai Yehuda Amichai (; born Ludwig Pfeuffer 3 May 1924 – 22 September 2000) was an Israelis, Israeli poet and author, one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew language, Hebrew in modern times. Yehuda Amichai, the poet of everyday life, love, ...

(1924–2000), Israeli poet *

Yehuda Amital Yehuda Amital (; born Yehuda Klein; 31 October 1924 – 9 July 2010) was an Orthodox rabbi, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, and a member of the Israeli cabinet, associated with the Israeli Left. The concept of a Hesder Yeshiva is att ...

(1924–2010), dean of Yeshivat Har Etzion, former Israeli cabinet member * Yehuda Atedji (born 1961), Israeli Olympic windsurfer *

Yehuda Bauer Yehuda Bauer (; 6 April 1926 – 18 October 2024) was a Czech-born Israeli historian and scholar of the The Holocaust, Holocaust. He was a professor of Holocaust studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew Univer ...

(1926–2024), Czech-Israeli historian of the Holocaust * Yehuda Danon (born 1940), Israeli doctor * Yehuda Gilad (musician), contemporary clarinetist and conductor * Yehuda Gilad (politician) (born 1955), Israeli rabbi and politician * Yehudah Glick (born 1965), American-born Israeli Orthodox rabbi, activist, and politician * Yehuda Green (born 1959), Shlomo Carlebach-inspired Hasidic singer, composer, and hazzan * Yehuda Hayuth (1946-2022), Israeli professor of geography * Yehudah Jacobs (c. 1940–2020), American rabbi * Yehuda Krinsky (born 1933), Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi * Yehuda Kurtzer (born 1977), President of The Shalom Hartman Institute of North America * Yehuda Edwin "Honest Ed" Mirvish (1914-2007), Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and impresario *

Yehuda Moraly Yehuda (Jean-Bernard) Moraly (), a theater researcher, playwright, director and actor, is a professor emeritus of Theater studies at the Hebrew University. His fields of research are mainly French theater and film. He taught theater at the ...

(born 1948), Israeli theater researcher, playwright, director, actor, and professor * Yehuda Poliker (born 1950), Israeli singer-songwriter *

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

(1916–1999), world-famous violinist * Yehuda Tzadka (1910–1991), dean of Porat Yosef Yeshiva, Jerusalem * Yehuda Wiener-Gafni (born 1930), Israeli Olympic basketball player * Yehuda Weisenstein (born 1955), Israeli Olympic fencer * Yehuda Zadok (born 1958), Israeli Olympic runner

Fictional characters

* Judah Ben-Hur, main character of the 1880 Lew Wallace novel ''Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'' and film adaptations * Judah Mannowdog, character in the TV show ''

Bojack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated tragicomedy television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...

'' * Judah Rosenthal, character in the film ''

Crimes and Misdemeanors ''Crimes and Misdemeanors'' is a 1989 American existential comedy drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, who stars alongside Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Orbach, Alan Alda, Sam Waterston, and Joanna Gleason. ...

'' played by

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's '' North by Northwest'' (1959). His career breakthrough c ...

* Judah, character in ''

Weeds (TV series) ''Weeds'' is an American black comedy, dark comedy-drama (genre), drama television series created by Jenji Kohan, which aired on Showtime (TV network), Showtime from August 8, 2005, to September 16, 2012. The series tells of Nancy Botwin (Mary- ...

'' played by

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022) and its spin-off '' The Walking Dead: Dead City'' (2023–present ...

References

{{given name Jewish masculine given names Modern names of Hebrew origin Given names of Hebrew language origin Hebrew masculine given names Masculine given names Jewish given names