J by nickton via Flickr
He’s a Biblical obscurity now rising fast.
Thanks to Racheli for suggesting Judah as our Baby Name of the Day.
The year was 2004, and a Discovery special covered a family about to welcome their fifteenth child.
Baby Name of the Day: Judah
lola marie says
October 13, 2011 at 10:09 PMI love the name Judah. My son’s name is Judah. If we have another boy, I will go with the name Micah. Micah is becoming a little too popular now for me though. I prefer being a little different. I always said that I didn’t want to call my child, and 5 other children turn their heads as well. lol
chaneltara says
May 9, 2011 at 10:18 AMJudah is ok,, though I much prefer Jude or Jonah/Jonas, both of which are on our list if we have a boy. I like Josiah too.
Lady Gwyn says
May 6, 2011 at 9:09 PMJudah is just ‘meh’ for me. There are other biblical names I would rather use-Jonah, for instance. Also, my cousin Brittany’s oldest child is named Jude, so I would not use Judah to avoid future confusion. (He is Jude Adam, Adam being a family name)
Sarah A says
May 6, 2011 at 5:56 PMI really love Judah. The problem, again, is our last name. Well, it wouldn’t be a problem except for my profession. It would be along the lines of being a professional boxer with the last name Tyson and naming your daughter Michaela. Nope.
I would love to meet a little Judah. Twin boys named Judah and Micah would be absolutely wonderful!!
Catherine says
May 7, 2011 at 2:36 AMFunnily enough, one of my cousins named her son Judah and my sister named her son (my nephew!) Micah. There’s an Elias and a Caleb in the mix too.(and my daughter’s name, Stephanie, is a saint’s name)
Real Food Campaign says
May 6, 2011 at 3:29 PMJudah is great! I don’t get a Walmart vibe at all. I’d imagine most parents who chose Judah would be Christians, but it’s stylish enough that they wouldn’t HAVE to be. Jude feels significantly less religious (probably because there are more pop-culture associations, what with Jude Law and “Hey, Jude”). We considered both Judah and Jude for our son, but my husband nixed them both, so we ended up with Julius instead. 🙂
— Emmy Jo
rockingfetal says
May 6, 2011 at 2:15 PMI really like Judah a lot. Weeds is was sold me on the name, and it’s been on the list ever since. I’m not sure I’ll ever get to it, but Judah James Elliot is the combo I’ve had in mind. We only really agree on the scary biblical names, and I have the background to pull it off completely. 😛
Lola says
May 6, 2011 at 11:47 AMCongrats Charlotte! What an absolutely handsome name for your little guy, Alaric is Awesome! 🙂
Charlotte Vera says
May 6, 2011 at 11:17 AMI grew up loving the movie Ben-Hur, so when I hear “Judah” I automatically want to add “Ben-Hur” to it in my head. I actually really like the name, although its similarities to Judas does make me hesitant to consider using Judah myself. Plus, it seems like ALL my friends are using Biblical names for their boys, so Judah would feel like a bandwagon choice.
Not exactly on topic, but the popularity of Biblical names is one of the reasons I didn’t push for the Judah-related Thaddeus when trying to come up with a boys’ name recently. Instead we went for something more Germainic, and as of today, little Alaric Mark Patrick is three weeks old! We chose Alaric because we like the name and Mark Patrick are for his father and paternal grandfather.
Bek says
May 6, 2011 at 12:27 PMCongratulations, Charlotte! Alaric Mark Patrick is an incredibly handsome choice! I’m a big fan of Alaric, and if my husband didn’t mind repeating initials in a family, it’d be up there on our list too. 🙂
Catherine says
May 6, 2011 at 1:27 PMI lurve Alaric! good solid choices all around and with meaning too <3
Real Food Campaign says
May 6, 2011 at 3:26 PMI adore Alaric! So handsome and uncommon. Wow!
— Emmy Jo
Julie says
May 6, 2011 at 5:16 PMLovely name! Congratulations on your well named baby.
Sarah A says
May 6, 2011 at 5:50 PMCongratulations Charlotte!! I love that all 3 names end with the same sound. How is Alaric pronounced exactly? Is it AL-aric, A-LAIR-ic, or A-LAHR-ic?
appellationmountain says
May 6, 2011 at 6:45 PMCONGRATULATIONS! What a fabulously named little guy. All the best to you and yours!
Charlotte Vera says
May 7, 2011 at 1:04 AMThank you, everyone! We were actually hesitant about using three names that ended with the same sound because we were worried it affected the flow; however, we ultimately decided that we cared more about each individual name being special to us than how well they went together. We pronounce the first name AL-a-ric. When commenting on our somewhat unusual selection my midwife told me that she also recently delivered a little Aldous!
Reading over my original comment, I want to clarify that I actually really like almost all of the Biblical names my friends have been choosing for their little guys — it’s just that there’s been so many of them! Off the top of my head I can think of Zachariah, Azariah, Jonathan, Paul (middle name Asher), Elijah, and multiples of Isaac, Isaiah, and Josiah. Also, does Jonas count?
Bek says
May 6, 2011 at 11:15 AMI like the name Judah well enough, but it’s not one I love and it’s never come anywhere near our lists. I suppose growing up in an evangelical Christian community makes it seem not so far-fetched or anything like that. Biblical names all seem quite normal to me. So, I’d be delighted to hear of or meet a Judah, but it’s not one I could see in our family.
Lola says
May 6, 2011 at 10:34 AMMere Mere: I don’t get a Walmart vibe from Judah at all! Jude, however, does give me that sort of pause. Judah’s sweet & gentle, not one I see appealing to parents drawn to Colton, Hunter or Austin, which indeed are Walmart names to me! (I hear those three fairly often when I go). Add Jayden, Logan & Brayden to that small list. Logan, in MA, where it’s a major airport! Makes me LOL everytime I hear it here!
Mere Mere says
May 6, 2011 at 7:40 AMThis was on our very short list if our daughter had been a boy. However, I was having a hard time getting beyond the fact that when I picture a mother saying it, for some reason, the mother in my head could be featured on peopleofwalmart.com. Am I totally wrong? At the time we kept names confidential so I didn’t have any other outside input. I love the nn Jude, but I like the full name/nickname option so Judah seems logical. Plus we already have a “son of Jacob” (Asher) so it fits (or would have limited our choices for a third child).
Lola says
May 6, 2011 at 6:50 AMI like Judah but don’t love him. Jude itself is so not a favorite, either.
First place I ran across the name Judah? The pages of ‘North & South’ where he’s Orry’s nephew and brother to Marie – Louise. He dies as a late teen, right before Sumter falls. It’s sad and the reason I like Judah but will never use it. Makes me remember that literary one. Not a bad guy at all but too sad for me. A stellar choice for anyone else though! 😀
Catherine says
May 6, 2011 at 5:58 AMMy cousin named her baby this years ago. I thought it was kind of weird but she’s a second generation missionary, I guess she and her hubby (also a second generation missionary) have a pass to be a bit weird.