Name Awesome

Japheth

#3,404 in 2025Boys' name

Possibly beautiful, pretty, handsome, through Iafeth

Japheth has been given to 1,387 babies in the U.S. since 1970. In 2025 it ranked #3,404 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2007, with 51 recorded.

Babies named Japheth, 2025

1 in 97,500

Japheth over time, 1880–2025

Boys
020406018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Japheth: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly beautiful, pretty, handsome, through Iafeth

Hebrew

What Japheth means

Japheth belongs to the name family reached through Japheth → Iafeth → יֶפֶת. Its meaning is “beautiful, pretty, handsome”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Middle English Jafeth (as attested in Wycliffe's Bible), from Old English Iafeth (see e.g. Aelfric of Eynsham) and Middle French Japhet, both from Late Latin Iaphet, Iafeth, from Koine Greek Ἰάφεθ (Iápheth), from Hebrew יֶפֶת (yépheth). Further origin uncertain; folk etymology as well as rabbinical and patristic claims usually point to a meaning like "enlarged", in reference to Genesis 9:27, or "fair" (pale, in reference to complexion).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Japheth (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Japheth is used in English. Its origins include Hebrew.

Japheth comes through Middle English Jafeth, Old English Iafeth, Middle French Japhet, Late Latin Iaphet, Koine Greek Ἰάφεθ and Hebrew יֶפֶת.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Iafeth and יֶפֶת.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Japheth is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒeɪfɛθ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,387 boys were recorded with the name Japheth between 1970 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 51 in 2007; its best national rank was #1,840 in 1983.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,858 in 2020 to #3,404 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,785 in 2015 to #3,404 in 2025.

How common is Japheth?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 97,500
34 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 50,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#3,404
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
67,586 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Japheth sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 67,586 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Japheth. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Japheths were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Japheth was born before 2006 — so the typical Japheth is around 19 today.

Median birth year
2006
About 19 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
26.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
62.6%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,387
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 26.0% of all recorded uses (361).

Is Japheth rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−163
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−546
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−619
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.79×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
66.7%
Peak was 2007 (51)
Years since peak
18
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
24.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,840
1983

Spellings of Japheth

Japheth is not the most common spelling — Jareth is, with 59.9% against Japheth's 40.1%.

  • Jareth59.9%2,076
  • Japheth40.1%1,387

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Japheth is used

Across 1910–2025, Japheth was most concentrated in Indiana — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 477,529 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Indiana1 in 100,000
  2. 2California1 in —
  3. 3New York1 in —
  4. 4Ohio1 in —
  5. 5Pennsylvania1 in —
  6. 6Texas1 in —
  7. 7Virginia1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Japheth has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Japheth around the world

Where Japheth ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2004–2025
    #3,684
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2002–2021
    #2,792
    in 2021
  • South Australia
    2013–2013
    #754
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Japheth by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#3,404
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 546
Best rank ever
#1,840
1983
Peak year
2007
51 that year
First recorded
1970
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,387
Count in 2025
34

Names similar to Japheth

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

JapethKenethNazarethJaphetJarethKalethGarethYarethZethGarrethJafethJosethElizabethAnikethSakethKenniethKinnethKiethVineethWyethZarethSaakethPraneethJarreth

Sibling names for Japheth

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Japheth

Top names of 2007, Japheth's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 1983Boys' names starting with J