Iscariot as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Iscariot

What is the meaning of the name Iscariot ?

The baby name Iscariot is a Male name , 4 syllables long and is pronounced /ɪˈskæriət/ (ih-SKAR-ee-uht).

Iscariot is Hebrew in Origin.

Iscariot traces to Greek Iskariōth/Iskariōtēs, carried through Latin Iscariotes into English. Most scholars read it as Aramaic/Hebrew ’îš Qᵉriyôth, “man of Kerioth,” naming a Judean town; a minority link it to Latin sicarius, “dagger-man,” a term for zealot assassins. Either way, it began as a geographic or descriptive byname rather than a personal name.

In the New Testament, the epithet identifies Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, which cemented Iscariot as a byword for treachery across many languages. As a given name it is extraordinarily rare and typically appears only in literary, artistic, or stage contexts (e.g., the album title “Pisces Iscariot”). International forms include Iscariote in many Romance languages; Iskariot, Iskarioth, or Ischarioth in Germanic and Slavic traditions; and Iscariotes/Iskariotes in Latin and Greek transliterations. No traditional diminutives exist. Meaning is usually taken as “man from Kerioth”; the “dagger-man” etymology remains debated.

⚙ Iscariot is an extremely rare name. Across our dataset of national birth registries and international name records, Iscariot appears only 4 times in total — found in 4 countries. If you're considering it, you'd be giving your child a name almost nobody else has.