Yireh
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "God will provide".
Name Census estimates that about 92 living Americans carry the first name Yireh. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Yireh today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yireh births was 2017 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yireh. 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 Yireh. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
92
~ 1 in 3,725,591 Americans
Peak year
2017
12 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,256
Tracked since 2005
Gender
Gender distribution for Yireh
Yireh leans heavily female at 80.6% of total registrations, but 18 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Yireh as a male name
- Ranked #12,256 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (7 births)
Yireh as a female name
- Ranked #17,566 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (9 births)
Popularity
Yireh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yireh from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 53 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yireh remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yireh 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 Yireh 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 Yireh
The name Yireh is of Hebrew origin and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew root word "ra'ah," which means "to see" or "to provide." The name is closely associated with the biblical phrase "Yahweh Yireh," which translates to "the Lord will provide."
In the Book of Genesis, the name Yireh is mentioned in the context of the binding of Isaac. After Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac, God provided a ram caught in a thicket, and Abraham named the place "Yahweh Yireh," signifying that the Lord had provided. This biblical event is regarded as a significant moment in the Abrahamic faiths, emphasizing the concepts of faith, obedience, and divine providence.
The earliest recorded instance of Yireh as a given name dates back to the ancient Hebrew scriptures. However, it is important to note that it was primarily used as a name referencing the location where the binding of Isaac took place, rather than as a personal name.
Throughout history, the name Yireh has been relatively uncommon as a personal name, but several notable individuals have borne it. One of the earliest recorded instances is Yireh ben Eliezer, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and poet from Barcelona, Spain, who lived from approximately 1165 to 1225.
Another notable figure is Yireh Chaim ben Moshe Catalano, an Italian-Jewish philosopher and kabbalist who lived from 1570 to 1642. He was known for his writings on Jewish mysticism and his contributions to the development of the Kabbalah.
In more recent times, Yireh Nessa Khan was a 19th-century Indian princess and philanthropist from the princely state of Mewar (now part of Rajasthan, India). She was born in 1823 and was renowned for her charitable works and support for education.
Yireh Mun was a South Korean businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1931 to 2018. He founded the Tongil Group, one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea, and was known for his philanthropic endeavors, including establishing educational institutions and supporting various social causes.
Yireh Kaplan was an Israeli author and scholar who specialized in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah. He lived from 1932 to 1998 and authored several influential works on these subjects, contributing to the understanding and preservation of Jewish mystical traditions.
While the name Yireh has been relatively uncommon throughout history, its biblical origins and association with the concept of divine providence have imbued it with deep spiritual and religious significance, particularly in the Abrahamic faiths.
People
Yireh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yireh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yireh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yireh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 92 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yireh 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 3,725,591 US residents.
Is Yireh a common name?
We classify Yireh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 93 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yireh most popular?
The single biggest year for Yireh was 2017, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yireh is about 11 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 Yireh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yireh a female name?
Yes, 80.6% of people registered as Yireh in the SSA data are female. 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 Yireh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yireh 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 Yireh 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 people are called Yireh?
You can see how many people share the name Yireh on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.