Japeth
Hebrew name meaning "he opens, enlarges, or spreads abroad".
Name Census estimates that about 35 living Americans carry the first name Japeth. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Japeth today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Japeth births was 1979 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Japeth. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Japeth. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
35
~ 1 in 9,792,981 Americans
Peak year
1979
8 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2000 SSA rank
#9,601
Tracked since 1977
Popularity
Japeth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Japeth from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 20 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Japeth by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Japeth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Japeth
The given name Japeth has its origins in the Hebrew language, derived from the biblical character Japheth, one of the three sons of Noah mentioned in the Book of Genesis. The name itself is thought to come from the Hebrew root word "yapat," which means "to be fair" or "to be beautiful."
In the biblical narrative, Japheth was one of the survivors of the Great Flood, along with his brothers Shem and Ham, and their families. After the flood, Japheth's descendants are said to have populated the regions of the Mediterranean, Europe, and parts of Asia. This association with Japheth as the progenitor of many nations and peoples across these continents may have contributed to the enduring use of the name Japeth over time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Japeth can be found in the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, dating back to the 3rd century BCE. In this text, the name appears as "Iaphethos," reflecting the Greek transliteration of the original Hebrew.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Japeth, though its usage has been relatively limited compared to other biblical names. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Japeth of Hierapolis, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 4th century CE. Another notable bearer was Japeth Crommelin, a Dutch astronomer and mathematician who lived from 1665 to 1728 and made significant contributions to the study of comets.
In the realm of literature, the name Japeth appears in John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost," published in 1667. In this work, Japhet is mentioned as one of the sons of Noah, reflecting the biblical narrative.
Other historical figures who carried the name Japeth include Japeth Pye (1810-1874), an English cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club in the mid-19th century, and Japeth Debbington (1757-1831), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars.
While the name Japeth has its roots in the ancient Hebrew tradition and has been used sporadically throughout history, it has never achieved widespread popularity as a given name in modern times. Its enduring legacy lies in its connection to the biblical narrative and its representation of the diversity of nations and peoples that trace their origins back to the descendants of Japheth.
People
Japeth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Japeth as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Japeth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Japeth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 35 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Japeth going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 9,792,981 US residents.
Is Japeth a common name?
We classify Japeth as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Japeth most popular?
The single biggest year for Japeth was 1979, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Japeth is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Japeth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Japeth a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Japeth in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Japeth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Japeth in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Japeth can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Japeth?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.