Yehuda as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Yehuda

What is the meaning of the name Yehuda ?

The baby name Yehuda is a Male name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced yeh-HOO-dah (IPA: /jehuˈda/).

Yehuda is Hebrew in Origin.

Yehuda (Hebrew: יהודה, pronounced yeh-HOO-dah) is the Hebrew form of Judah, from the triliteral root y-d-h, “to praise/thank.” In Genesis 29:35, Leah names her fourth son Yehuda saying “odeh et Adonai” (“I will praise the Lord”), giving the name the sense “praised,” “thankful,” or “Yahweh is praised.” The name became the ethnonym for the Tribe and Kingdom of Judah, source of the terms “Judea,” “Jew,” and “Judaism,” cementing its central place in Jewish identity.

Used continuously across Jewish communities, Yehuda remains popular in Israel and the diaspora. Diminutives include Yuda, Yudi, and Yudel. Spelling and cross‑lingual variants span Yehudah, Jehuda (older European), Juda (German/Slavic), Yehouda (French), Judah (English), Jude, and the Greek/Latin Ioudas/Judas. Notable bearers range from Judah/Yehuda Maccabee to the medieval poet-philosopher Yehuda Halevi and the modern Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai. In Christian tradition, “Judah” signifies Davidic lineage and messianic motifs, further spreading the name.