girl's name
Judith
zhoo-DEET
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 473,442
the United States
#789
2025 births
Judith is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "woman of Judea," borne by the heroine who beheads Holofernes in the deuterocanonical book named for her. It ranks eightieth in France and 789th in the United States, where it peaked in 1943.
- Judith is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1943, when 25,303 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 9,638 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Judith 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 | 142 |
| 1890s | 323 |
| 1900s | 432 |
| 1910s | 2,044 |
| 1920s | 5,172 |
| 1930s | 50,097 |
| 1940s | 218,647 |
| 1950s | 108,955 |
| 1960s | 39,896 |
| 1970s | 9,874 |
| 1980s | 5,861 |
| 1990s | 5,093 |
| 2000s | 4,533 |
| 2010s | 3,035 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,851 |
What Judith means
Judith means a woman of Judea, or a Jewish woman. The Hebrew Yehudit is the feminine of Yehudi, and the underlying root also gives the sense of praise, which is why some sources gloss the name as praised.
Where Judith comes from
Judith comes from the Hebrew Yehudit, feminine of Yehudi, a man of Judah, from the tribe named for Jacob's fourth son. In Genesis, Leah names Judah with a phrase meaning I will praise, which is the source of the secondary gloss. The Book of Judith, in the Catholic and Orthodox canons and the Apocrypha for Protestants, tells of a widow who charms and then beheads the Assyrian general Holofernes to save her besieged city. The scene became one of the most painted subjects in Western art, treated by Caravaggio, Klimt and, most famously, Artemisia Gentileschi. An earlier Judith appears in Genesis as a wife of Esau.
Judith in use
Judith ranks eightieth in France with about 595 births in 2025, and our American records show a peak in 1943 with more than twenty-five thousand births in that year alone — one of the largest single-year figures in our data. With more than 471,000 births on record it is a very substantial name, now at 789 in the United States. Its French figure is comparatively stable, following the pattern of Diane and Suzanne.
How popular is Judith?
In 2025, Judith was given to 344 babies in the United States, ranking #789 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Judith 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 Judith
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Judith also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Judith over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
4 nicknames for Judith
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.
Judith 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 Judith
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Judith — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Judith
What does the name Judith mean?
Judith means "woman of Judea," from the Hebrew Yehudit.
Who was Judith in the Bible?
A widow who beheaded the Assyrian general Holofernes to save her besieged city, in the deuterocanonical book named for her.
Does Judith mean praised?
Secondarily. The tribal name Judah comes from a Hebrew phrase meaning I will praise.
How popular is Judith?
Eightieth in France and 789th in the United States, where it peaked in 1943.
Is Judith a girl's or a boy's name?
Judith is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Judith?
Judith has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Judith?
Judith is usually shortened to Judy, Jud, Judi and Jude.
Is Judith a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Judith currently ranks #80 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.