The baby name Jade emerged as a glamorous alternative to older gemstones like Ruby and Pearl. Today it fits in perfectly with fresh nature names and traditional choices alike.
Thanks to JNE for suggesting today’s Baby Name of the Day.
THE MEANING OF THE NAME JADE
Jade is a pretty type of rock, typically – but not exclusively – found in shades of green.
It’s been used for decorative carvings and objects, as well as jewelry, since the prehistoric era. While it’s not always the exact same stone, jade is known is Asia and Latin America.
Today, the country of Myanamar – between India and China and Thailand, located on the Bay of Bengal, produces the lion’s share of jade, as well as rubies and other precious gems.
But the name’s roots are Spanish – and not particularly glamorous.
The phrase “piedra de ijada” means “stone of the flank” or “stone of pain in the side.” Ijada comes from the Latin word ileus, meaning colic. (Not the kind we think of with babies exactly, but more of a stomachache in adults.)
In other words, jade was once considered a cure for kidney or abdominal pain. It takes its name from the ailment.
Translated into French, it became I’ejade. As sometimes happens, over time the name was misunderstood as le jade.
Plenty of pretty, colorful gemstones have been used as girls’ names over the years. Why not Jade?
As it happens, the Old Norse word jälda – mare – initially referred to a worn-out horse. By the 1500s, it had also become the word jade in English. If you’re jaded, you’re weary or worn out, often from overindulgence. It can rather cruel.
A century or two after the whole tired-out-horse bit, the gemstone’s name also became jade in English.
Now the green stone really is the strongest association, leaving medical terms and insults far in the past. But that history helps explain why we don’t hear Jade alongside vintage gems like Ruby and Pearl.
DRAGON SEED
Speaking of Pearl, in 1942, Pearl S. Buck published Dragon Seed: A Novel of China Today. It’s the story of peasants in a village near Nanking, China during the 1937 Japanese invasion. While the story is fictional, the brutality of the moment is accurate. Dragon Seed became an important historic novel of the era.
The story was adapted as a movie in 1944. Katharine Hepburn played Jade, the villager who stood up to the Japanese invaders and convinced her family and neighbors to do the same. (Yes, all of the Asian characters were played by white actors.)
It’s the very first moment that Jade seems to have registered as a potential given name in the US.
Perhaps part of the reason Buck chose the character’s name in the first place? In China, jade is associated with purity, bravery, and honesty, as well as immortality. It’s sometimes called “the stone of heaven.”
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME JADE?
In 1944, the baby name Jade debuted in the US popularity data for girls, with six births. By 1945, that number reached 37 newborn girls. Credit clearly goes to Katharine Hepburn and Pearl S. Buck.
The name was still used in small, steady numbers for girls when it started to trend for boys.
In fact, Jade debuted in the boys’ Top 1000 in 1968. It wasn’t until 1975 that Jade ranked for girls.
1975 also marks the very first year that Jade was given to more girls than boys.
What explains the rise of Jade as a boy’s name? That’s unclear. But on sound alone, Jade fits with Jake and Wade and plenty of names familiar in mid-century America.
The name would really skyrocket for girls – and finally fall out of use for boys – as the twentieth century ended and the twenty-first began.
As of 2023, the baby name Jade ranks #81 in the US for girls – a new high. At the same time, it was given to just 51 boys.
ENTER JADE JAGGER
What happened along the way?
Mick was then, and is now, a major international star. The Rolling Stones frontman met the Nicaraguan-born actress, socialite, and activist after a concert in France. A high-profile wedding followed, and Bianca emerged as a fashion icon in her own right.
In 1971, Mick Jagger and wife Bianca welcomed daughter Jade.
No question that their family put the name in the headlines, sending it soaring towards the US Top 1000.
JADA, JAYDEN, AND MORE
It wasn’t just the baby name Jade, though.
As the years passed, more Jade names emerged, including:
- Jada, as in actress Jada Pinkett Smith. She debuted on FOX’s True Colors in 1990. While the name was in use earlier, it gained rapidly as Jada’s star rose. Spellings like Jayda and Jaida caught on, too.
- Jayden was boosted when Jada and Will named their son Jaden, after mom. But the Aiden names were a whole sensation in their own right, with spellings including Jadyn, Jaiden, and Jaidyn also trending.
- More creative choices, like Jadiel and Jadalyn, have also been seen.
- The Italian Giada got a boost from celebrity chef Giada DeLaurentis. The television personality named her own daughter Jade.
INTERNATIONAL FAVORITE
For nearly two decades, the baby name Jade has topped the popularity lists in France. It continues to rank in the girls’ Top Ten. It’s also fared well in Belgium and Quebec.
Jade is a rising Top 100 choice in the Netherlands, and it’s heard in the Spanish-speaking world, too.
GLITTERING and STRONG
The baby name Jade retains all the strength of the gemstone. File it somewhere between Emerald and Blair, Willow and Pearl. It’s glittering and strong, with a current sound that feels nicely traditional.
I really like Jade.
my name is jade, and i hate it its so common i recommend an unusual name.
Please take my advice
I have met no Jades…(for a long time, the only one I heard of was Jade Jagger). While it seems to have acquired a somewhat downmarket image, perhaps because of all the Jaydens, I quite like the name.
You’re right JNE, my negative thoughts towards Jade have largely been brought on by poor examples of the name which is really unfortunate. I wish I had met a Jade like you sooner!
I know 2 Jades – one a twenty-something at this point, and one a pre-teen. I know the younger grew up in Kenya, and her parents chose the name because the Kenyans called the lake they lived near Jade Lake (or something similar). It was sweet and it seems to suit her.
I’ve never really felt strongly about this name otherwise. Gem names in general just don’t really appeal to me, and this is one that’s really flying under my radar.
It’s interesting to comparing wearing a name to the outside thoughts on it. I actually really like my name and always have. In all of my life (let’s just say I’m safely in my 30s), I have personally known 3 Jades other than myself. Sure I know of more Jades, but it’s not a very common name. Now, 2 of the 3 were women, but 1 was a boy – a couple years older than me. Jade was more unique when there weren’t a billion more complicated spin-offs of the name, but to me, Jade is still more or less the unadulterated version of all the Jada, Jaden, Giada type names out there.
While I’ve been aware of the “broken down horse/nag” and “harlot” associations since I was around 10 years old, I honestly haven’t run into others who have had that kind of association – not that it would matter – it doesn’t really bother me – the use of the “broken down horse/nag” definition fell out of common use in the late 1800s, for example. Now, the “jaded” association has always been there and some people are “clever” and say something like “Oh, aren’t you Jaded?” to me… Still, it’s not a common thing and it’s never bugged me (usually I just roll my eyes – what else can be done?).
While I lived in England, lots of little girls were being called Jade and it wasn’t uncommon to be shopping and hear a ticked off mommy say “Jade, get over here now” or some such thing… Being as I’d had a few decades of being pretty much the only Jade in any given room, it always had me whipping my head around surprised to be admonished before realizing that it was, of course, not me that was getting the dress-down. And, with regard to Kate’s mention of Ms Goody – I am so thankful I had recently moed to the US when that season of Big Brother hit the air… yikes! I can understand the apprehension of any sensible Brit in using Jade as a name after that. (Aside – there was a less-famous Jade on ANTM in the US and she was not as bad, but pretty freaky.)
All that said, I’ve enjoyed being Jade. The 2 women I’ve known who were also Jades also felt the same as me about their name. Everyone can spell it, read it/pronounce it and it’s not a confusing or difficult name for people, yet it isn’t all that common (especially among people my age, even in England). It’s also pretty immune to nasty teasing. All I can say is, to anyone considering the name – actually having it is pretty good. It seems poor examples of the name (in persona – reality TV stars) and Jada/Jayden type names have made it less desirable… shame really, it really has served me well!
It’s fun to see how it comes across for everyone else!
Interesting about it being male – a few years ago I knew a girl whose father was Jade. I remember being surprised at that – but then again, I have not actually met any Jades, male or female, so why would it be a shocker?
I don’t think I would ever choose this one for my child (female, definitely). Although it has a lovely history, today’s Jade is a Walmart name, IMO. It’s up there with Bailey, Kayleigh, and Brianne. No thanks!
JNE’s a Jade, I think! 🙂 I don’t mind the name but every time I see it, I’m reminded of the original slang, my Grandmother used it frequently, so it’s in my lexicon too and my Auntie Lesley (hereafter Buddy, as we called her) collected jade items from China & Japan as a hobby. So, it doesn’t bother me as a name but it’s not one I could ever bring myself to use. Except for Ruby, used to honor me, I don’t really like any of the gemstone names. Gemma slides by because she’s almost generic. 😀
Onto other things:
Agatha Appolline gets a *swoon* from me, gorgeous! I adore Agatha and need some good reviews to sell her to the other half, he still thinks ‘musty old lady’ or ‘stern Grandmama’. Funny too, as Agnes gets a green light. Probably because Agnes can shorten into the modern sounding Nessa. Agatha’s just got Aggie (although I keep trying to get Thea out of that last syllable!). I think Hedwig would make an awesome middle for something simpler: Jane Hedwig, Alice Hedwig, Frances Hedwig. I’m rather partial to Alice Hedwig, myself!
Oooh … Agatha Appoline. It’s a great combination of granny chic and French flair, and both choices are unexpected but not unfamiliar. What a name! Lola asked for Agatha – she’s 2/25’s NotD
Donald will be NotD on 1/25. I’ve been thinking about this one because of Eddie Cahill’s character on CSI:NY and then the Nameberry gurus started talking him up.
Emmy Jo asked for Agnes, too – she’s 2/11.
Pearl is getting lots of attention these days, isn’t she? She’ll be NotD on 2/21.
As for Jade, we’ve considered using it somewhere in the middle as an Americanization of Jadwiga, in honor of my husbands’ beloved grandmother. The English translation is, of course, Hedwig, which I’m not sure works on a modern child. Or does it? Hmmm …
I think of Jade and Gemma in the same breath, not just because of the obvious jemstone link but also because of their similar level of usage in the UK, there’s probably quite a few teenage siblings out there called Jade and Gemma I would imagine.
Just like Gemma, I have never properly considered Jade due to overfamiliarity. I think I’ve always bypassed her because of negative social connections with the name (take the infamous Big Brother contestant Jade Goody as one such example and the huge variety of Jade spinoffs that Verity has mentioned).
Now that I have actually stopped to consider Jade though, I’m no more enthralled by her. I had never connected Jade with ‘jaded’ before, but now you mention it I can’t think of anything else! And while, she may have meant ‘worn out horse’ and been used as a synonym for harlot a long time ago, I still don’t like the idea of so many negative associations attached to one name. In truth, I think that if I loved Jade, these reasons wouldn’t be enough to put me off but since I’ve never been a fan, they only serve to lessen her appeal further.
Verity, you mentioned Pearl in the post, do you think she could feature as name of the day at some stage? I’d love to learn a bit more about her… Also, I don’t know whether Agnes or Donald have ever been name of the day but if not, I would love to here more about them too!
Ps. I was flicking through the recent telegraph annoucements earlier and came across an ‘Agatha Appoline’ which I thought was rather swanky, what do y’all make of that?