boy's name
Jared
JAIR-id
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 218,211
the United States
#397
2025 births
Jared is a boy's name from Hebrew meaning descent, borne by the father of Enoch — the one man in Genesis who does not die but is taken. It peaked in 1998 and ranks 397th in the United States.
- Jared is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1998, when 7,478 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,124 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Jared over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 |
| 1890s | 5 |
| 1910s | 87 |
| 1920s | 138 |
| 1930s | 267 |
| 1940s | 438 |
| 1950s | 697 |
| 1960s | 2,292 |
| 1970s | 24,540 |
| 1980s | 60,653 |
| 1990s | 63,965 |
| 2000s | 38,130 |
| 2010s | 10,789 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,113 |
What Jared means
Jared means descent, or he descends. The Hebrew root names downward movement, and the name is usually read as referring to a descent rather than to lineage.
Where Jared comes from
Jared is the Hebrew Yered, from a root meaning to descend. In Genesis he is the father of Enoch, who walks with God and then is not, for God took him — the only figure in the genealogy who is not recorded as dying. Later Jewish tradition connected the name to the descent of the watchers, the angels of the Book of Enoch who come down to earth, though the text does not say so. The name entered English use after the Reformation with the wave of Old Testament names and became common only in the 1960s.
Jared in use
Jared peaked in the United States in 1998, when 7,478 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 397th in the United States on 804 births, 1392nd in France on 25 and 1769th in England and Wales, across 218,211 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1881, but almost all of its volume falls after 1965.
How popular is Jared?
In 2025, Jared was given to 804 babies in the United States, ranking #397 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Jared is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Jared
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Jared also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Jared over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Jared
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Jared in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Jared
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Jared — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Jared
What does the name Jared mean?
Descent, from a Hebrew root meaning to descend.
Who was Jared in the Bible?
The father of Enoch, the one figure in the Genesis genealogy who does not die but is taken.
Is Jared related to the Book of Enoch?
Later tradition connected the name to the descent of the watchers, though the text does not make that link.
How popular is Jared?
397th in the United States, down from a 1998 peak of 7,478 births.
Is Jared a girl's or a boy's name?
Jared is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Jared?
Jared has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Jared?
Jared is usually shortened to Jare.
Is Jared a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Jared currently ranks #397 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.