Jihad
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- jee-HAHD
- Origin
- Arabic
- US rank, 2025
- #4,538 for boys
Jihad is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “striving, effort”. In 2025 it ranked 4,538th for boys in the US (22 babies).
What does Jihad mean?
Arabic: Arabic jihad
“striving, effort”
From the Arabic word jihad, which literally means striving or exerting effort.
Is Jihad a girl's or a boy's name?
Jihad is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 22 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Jihad in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1998, with 6 boys.
Jihad in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | #6,556 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 4 | #4,147 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 1 | #5,936 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 4 | #2,990 |
| 2002 | 3 | #3,325 |
| 2001 | 3 | #3,255 |
| 2000 | 4 | #2,612 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 6 | #1,932 |
| 1997 | 4 | #2,438 |
How popular is Jihad in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #4,538among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 22about 1 in 78,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 3% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 22 boys in the US were named Jihad, making it the 4,538th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,694th. Its busiest year was 2000, with 96 boys. It first appears in the records in 1969.
Half of all the boys named Jihad in the US since 1880 were born between 1992 and 2007, the years shaded on the chart below.
Jihad in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22 | #4,538 |
| 2024 | 22 | #4,567 |
| 2023 | 29 | #3,799 |
| 2022 | 22 | #4,566 |
| 2021 | 14 | #6,027 |
| 2020 | 20 | #4,694 |
| 2019 | 25 | #4,110 |
| 2018 | 26 | #3,989 |
| 2017 | 29 | #3,674 |
| 2016 | 19 | #4,941 |
| 2015 | 28 | #3,774 |
| 2014 | 28 | #3,691 |
| 2013 | 35 | #3,120 |
| 2012 | 35 | #3,176 |
| 2011 | 36 | #3,113 |
| 2010 | 31 | #3,452 |
| 2009 | 44 | #2,752 |
| 2008 | 40 | #2,945 |
| 2007 | 39 | #2,972 |
| 2006 | 49 | #2,476 |
| 2005 | 40 | #2,697 |
| 2004 | 41 | #2,595 |
| 2003 | 51 | #2,149 |
| 2002 | 65 | #1,769 |
| 2001 | 93 | #1,364 |
| 2000 | 96 | #1,331 |
| 1999 | 76 | #1,486 |
| 1998 | 64 | #1,619 |
| 1997 | 67 | #1,532 |
| 1996 | 73 | #1,419 |
| 1995 | 73 | #1,375 |
| 1994 | 87 | #1,240 |
| 1993 | 71 | #1,353 |
| 1992 | 66 | #1,390 |
| 1991 | 63 | #1,424 |
| 1990 | 40 | #1,904 |
| 1989 | 43 | #1,761 |
| 1988 | 36 | #1,844 |
| 1987 | 35 | #1,826 |
| 1986 | 28 | #2,055 |
| 1985 | 28 | #2,018 |
| 1984 | 23 | #2,231 |
| 1983 | 28 | #1,904 |
| 1982 | 40 | #1,538 |
| 1981 | 25 | #2,085 |
| 1980 | 16 | #2,830 |
| 1979 | 27 | #1,943 |
| 1978 | 27 | #1,870 |
| 1977 | 9 | #3,834 |
| 1976 | 7 | #4,416 |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 7 | #4,188 |
| 1973 | 7 | #4,052 |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 7 | #3,961 |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 6 | #3,934 |
Names like Jihad
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad Ahmed Hamza Fahad Abdullah Hammad Khalid Umar Ahad Jawad Mustafa Asad
Names related to Jihad
More Arabic names
Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amir Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Kairo
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Jihad: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/jihad, updated 20 October 2026.