Japheth

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Japheth is also recorded as another name, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name1.6K records spelled Japheth4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Philippines, United States, Mexico, Tanzania

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Jápheth

53 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Japheth is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Derived from the Hebrew root 'patah' meaning 'to open' or 'extend', or possibly 'yaphah' meaning 'to be beautiful'.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• A biblical name implying expansion, openness, or beauty.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In English, The third son of Noah, brother to Shem and Ham, who received a blessing from God with Shem, considered to be the ancestor of the Japhetic people(s) (associated approx. with Indo-Europeans).

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, Biblical name

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In enm, alternative form of Jafeth

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 55 years between 1970–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Kaarlo Harvalab. 1885FInot in their usual nameFinnish politician (1885-1942)
• Japheth Campbellb. 1975USAmerican politician and entrepreneur
• Japheth Kimutaib. 1978KEKenyan middle distance runner
• Japheth J. Omojuwab. 1984NGblogger
• Joel Perezb. 1986USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 116 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Japheth?

We estimate roughly 1.1 thousand people bear Japheth (counting its spellings and scripts) across 6 countries in our records.

In which country does Japheth have the most bearers?

We estimate about 1.1 thousand people bear Japheth in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled japheth.

Where is Japheth most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Japheth is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 28 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

Is Japheth a male or female name?

Japheth is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Japheth mean?

Recorded meaning: Japheth represents the expansion of humanity into the 'isles of the Gentiles' and is often interpreted in Christian theology as representing the Gentile nations who would eventually share in the spiri…