Judah

Judah is a biblical name, from a Hebrew name (Yehudah) which means "praised." Judah is known in the Old Testament as one of the sons of Jacob. It was the Tribe of Judah that led the Exodus from Egypt. Another well known Judah, Judah the Maccabi, was a Jewish warrior who led a rebellion agains the Greeks. His story is celebrated during the festival of Chanukah. Interestingly, Judah had not appeared at all in the U.S. top 1000 names for baby boys in all of the 20th century until 1998, when it was just barely enough to make the list. Since then, it has climbed steadily, and seems poised to possibly make it into the top 500. Why the sudden rise in popularity? I have no idea.