The story behind Jehovah
Transliteration of Hebrew יְהֹוָה (yəhōwā), the Masoretic vocalization of the Biblical Hebrew יהוה (variously pronounced). The Masoretic vocalization is a so-called qere perpetuum, the deliberate insertion of the vowels of another word than the one represented by the consonant text, in this case אֲדֹנָי (“my lord”) ('Adonai'). Continuing earlier Iehoua. In English, the name is first attested in 1530, in Tyndale's Bible: I appeared vnto Abraham Isaac and Iacob an allmightie God: but in my name Iehouah was I not knowne vnto them (Exodus 6:3). Tyndale used Iehouah instead of Wycliffe's Adonay. The KJV also has Jehovah in this verse specifically, while it uses Lord otherwise. Young's Literal Translation (1898) has Jehovah. The New King James Version (1982) has Lord.
Pronunciation
General-American: /d͡ʒəˈhoʊ.və/
Regional pronunciation variants
- Received-Pronunciation: /d͡ʒəˈhəʊ.və/
Popularity
Jehovah ranked #13192 in US for 2022.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Jehovah
Jeremiah
Learned borrowing from Latin Jeremias, from Ancient Greek Ἰερεμίας (Ieremías), from Hebrew יִרְמְיָה (yirm'yá, “Jeremiah”, literally “Yahweh exalt”). Doublet of Jeremias.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Deborah
From Hebrew דְּבוֹרָה (dvorá), meaning bee.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Delilah
Borrowed from Hebrew דְּלִילָה (d'līla, “[she who] weakened”).
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Elijah
From Hebrew אליהו (Eliyahu, literally “Yahweh is my god”). Doublet of Ilya and Iliya. Compare Joel. See also Arabic إلياس.
- Gender
- mixed
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Hadassah
Borrowed from Hebrew הֲדַסָּה (“myrtle”), the Hebrew name of Esther in the Hebrew Bible.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Hephzibah
From Biblical Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (ḥep̄ṣî-ḇāh, “my delight is in her”).
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Jehovah
Aarão
From Latin Aarōn, from Hebrew אַהֲרֹן ('aharón). Doublet of Faro.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Aaron
From Latin Aaron, from Ancient Greek Ἀαρών (Aarṓn), from Hebrew אַהֲרֹן (ʾAhărōn), of unknown meaning, possibly meaning “bearer of martyrs”, or perhaps also, or instead,…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Aarón
a male given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Aaron
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Jehovah
Aarão
From Latin Aarōn, from Hebrew אַהֲרֹן ('aharón). Doublet of Faro.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Aaron
From Latin Aaron, from Ancient Greek Ἀαρών (Aarṓn), from Hebrew אַהֲרֹן (ʾAhărōn), of unknown meaning, possibly meaning “bearer of martyrs”, or perhaps also, or instead,…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Aarón
a male given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Aaron
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length