Hey, Jude.

While Michelle was already hot when the Beatles crooned Michelle, ma belle back in 1965, it rocketed from #18 to #4 the following year, and to #2 by 1968.  She spent a decade in the Top Ten and remains in the Top 100 today.

But Jude remained obscure after the Beatles’ 1968 release, despite the success of the single.  Today, that’s changing.  Thanks to Natalie for suggesting today’s Name of the Day.

You will find many a baby boomer nicknamed Jude - short for Judy or Judith.  Judy peaked at #11 in 1946 and remained a Top 100 choice for twenty more years.  The more formal Judith was a Top Ten choice in the 1940s.  Both are out of fashion today; in fact, Judy is out of the Top 1000.

And so while the conventional wisdom is that girls’ names are never reborn for our sons, this is one place where the rule does not stand.  A 50-something Jude is a grandmother; but the lovely 4 month old Jude she’s cradling is a grandson.

Jude, Judas and Judah are all related names from the Bible.  Judas, of course, is tainted by the betrayal of Judas Iscariot.  But Jude the Apostle - sometimes called Judas Thaddeus or simply Thaddeus - is a worthy inspiration for a child’s name.  

He’s the patron saint of desperate situations.  That’s why St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital bears his name.  The story goes that founder Danny Thomas was a struggling entertainer when he prayed to a statue of St. Jude in church.  If he succeeded professionally, Thomas promised, he’d honor St. Jude in thanksgiving. 

The most famous literary Jude, Thomas Hardy’s Jude Fawley in his 1895 novel Jude the Obscure, encountered nothing but desperate situations and dashed hopes in his lifetime.  But today, say the name Jude and the image that comes to mind is not a heartbroken stonemason with unfulfilled ambitions, but a tremendously successful heart-breaker of an English actor.

Jude Law, born David Jude Law, is certainly sparking interest in his given name.  In the US, the name was out of the Top 1000 for much of the 1980s and 90s.  But as Law’s star began to rise, Jude inched its way back onto the charts.  By 2000 - the year after he was nominated for an Oscar for his work in The Talented Mr. Ripley - Jude ranked #679.

The name has climbed steadily since then, and today stands at #297.

Along with Elijah (#30), Isaiah (#43), Josiah (#106) and Jonah (#165), Judah offers an impeccably Biblical spin on Jude.  In 2007, it ranked #425.  Names that end in -ah for baby boys are a strong trend.  After years of Jason, Brandon and Dylan gave way to Ethan, Logan and Aiden the -ahs sound fresh and interesting - and yes, quite masculine.

And so both Jude and Judah make interesting choices for a son born today.  They have history but sound current.  They’ve bubbled up in pop culture throughout the years, too, enough to make a case that no, you aren’t naming your baby boy after the A-lister, but merely opting for an underused classic.