Comments (Meaning / History Only)

Also a nickname for Judith/Judy? Great for both genders.
There is a lot of misinformation about this name out there. The name Jude has a very long history as a unisex name - in fact it originated that way. Jude came into use as a unisex name in the 1600's during the Protestant Reformation in England. It is thought to have originated as a short form of Judah and of Judith. It was used equally on males and females until the mid 1800's, when it started to lean male. However, there are still female Judes today and usage is picking up for both genders.The Jude in the bible was actually named Judas Thaddeus. His name was shortened to Jude by early English translators of the New Testament who wanted to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot, the apostle who famously betrayed Jesus. Most translations of the Bible other than English and French do not make this distinction. Strictly speaking, the name Jude is not a biblical name, but rather a short-form of the biblical name Judah (Yehudah in Hebrew) or Judas (Greek form of Judah) that did not come into everyday use as a given name until centuries later.
Jude is a girl's name in Arabic meaning generosity :)
While I personally prefer Jude as a man's name, I can see how it might have come about as a woman's name as well. I know a couple of women named Judith or Judy who are often called Jude for short. I would guess that Judy as a given name evolved from Judy as a nickname, in the way that nicknames do tend to evolve into given names in their own right. Likewise, Jude as a given name probably evolved from Jude as a nickname, rather than from the man's name Jude. Given that Judith is also biblical, the male and female Judes probably do share a root, but took different routes to get there.
Hello my name is Jude: I have been called Jude for over 4 decades now and I am 54 years young. I am a female and my birth name is Judith. Both names are Hebrew. The name Jude is usually used for males but can be used for females. It is just considered the masculine name and Judith which is considered a nickname and is the feminine name. I am Jewish and my mother was born in Munich, Germany and she went through the Holocaust. I have never practiced Judiasm as I am a Christian and have been for 50 years. I am an American; born and raised here in the United States 54 years ago. The war with Hitler had nothing to do with my mother who was just a little girl for those people who have no common sense about what happened during the Holocaust. How people can give one man so much power is downright pathetic. I love my name Judith which is a nickname from the name Jude and they are connected. Jude, a form of Judah, is a male name, but it is also used as a feminine nickname (usually for Judith). Jude is used in the Bible opposite Judas Iscariot to distinguish between the two apostles of the same name. In popular culture the name is associated with the Beatles song 'Hey Jude', and also with the actor Jude Law. In 2006 Jude was the 330th most popular boy's name in the US. It broke into the UK top 100 in 2003-4.The origin is not however from the Beatles, laughing. It is a Biblical name and it is Hebrew and a beautiful name for a boy or a girl. Only my very close friends call me Jude. I feel uncomfortable if a stranger calls me that. The strangers call me Judi. I like it that way. Love to all. Jude :)
Jude in Arabic means generosity.
Derivatives - Jad.
Or Judy for a girl.
Jude as a name has the the same meaning as Judah. The original meaning of Judah in Hebrew is: the praise of the Lord; confession - according to Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary.In the New Testament Epistle of Jude, the name Jude is written as follows:
ιουδαςIn the New Testament, when the name Judah is written in Greek, and refers to the tribe of Judah - Judah is written as follows:
ιουδα In the original Old Testament story of the birth of the baby Judah, it is said that the baby's mother, Leah, named the baby Judah - and then said: "Now will I praise the LORD." (Genesis 29:35)In Hebrew, Judah is written as follows:
יְהוּדָה, Although It IS possible, I guess, to name a girl baby Jude - especially if the baby's birth meant that the family believed: "Now will I praise the Lord," it should be noted that Judith is the feminine form of Judah - and also means The praise of the Lord - or Confessing the praise of the Lord.Judith was a brave widow who saved her countrymen by tricking a foreign leader and then getting rid of him - permanently. The Book of Judith is included in some Bibles but is excluded from most Protestant and Jewish canons. Mainly because many of the "historical" details contained in the book have never been verified. Therefore, there is some different of opinion as to whether to book of Judith relates a factual occurrence - or was just a story which gained popularity during that time period. Whether historical or not - I would think that a little girl could easily feel honored to carry the name of Judith. Genesis 26:34 ALSO mentions a woman named Judith who was married to Esau, the twin brother of Jacob and, therefore, the daughter-in-law of Isaac and Rebelah. In Hebrew, the name Judith is written as follows:
הוּדִיתHowever, whether you render the name as Jude, Judas, Judah or Judith - the ORIGINAL meaning of the name remains the same - Praise the Lord or Confessing a praise of the Lord -- "Now will I praise the Lord."
OK, sorry to double post, but there's some confusion among the comments as to the meaning of the name Jude, as it relates to the word Jew. The name Jude comes from the Hebrew Yehudah (Judah), which means "praised" (this is covered in the entry on Judah). It was the largest tribe of Israel, and became the ruling tribe. The word Jew comes from the Hebrew Yehudi, which means Judahite. The term was first used to describe the exiled Hebrews in Babylon collectively, as most of them were descendents of the tribe of Judah (with some Benjamites and Levites mixed in). The other ten tribes (most of Benjamin and his nine brothers) made up the northern kingdom of Israel after it divided between Jeroboam and Rehoboam. They have never returned to Israel. So "Jew" actually refers to the descendents of Judah. Judah was a very common name in Israel, as it was the name of one of the only intact tribes, and the tribe of kings. Another term to describe Jews would be "Judeans," or residents of the tribal territory of Judah (Judea in the NT).

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