Jehoiakim as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Jehoiakim

What is the meaning of the name Jehoiakim ?

The baby name Jehoiakim is a Male name , 5 syllables long and is pronounced yeh-hoh-YAH-keem (Hebrew); jeh-hoh-EYE-kim (English).

Jehoiakim is Hebrew in Origin.

Jehoiakim is a theophoric Hebrew name from Yehoyakim (יְהוֹיָקִים), built on the divine element Yeho-/Yo- (invoking YHWH) plus the verb root qwm “to raise, establish.” It means “Yahweh establishes” or “raised up by the Lord.” The form -yakim reflects the causative (Hiphil) sense, “He causes to stand/establish,” attributing agency to God.

In the Hebrew Bible, Jehoiakim is the son of Josiah and king of Judah; he was born Eliakim and renamed by Pharaoh Necho II (2 Kings 23:34). His reign marks the turbulent years preceding the Babylonian exile and is recounted in Kings, Chronicles, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Transliterations include Yehoyakim and Yehoiakim; Greek renders it Ioakim, and Latin/European tradition gives Joachim, which became widespread in Christian usage (e.g., Saint Joachim). Modern Hebrew uses Yehoyakim; English largely keeps Jehoiakim. The name remains rare today outside religious contexts but carries strong biblical resonance.

⚙ Jehoiakim is about as rare as a name gets. We count just 6 recorded uses of it worldwide, from 2 countries.