Yoab
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- YOH-ab
- Origin
- Hebrew
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,742 for boys
Yoab is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “the Lord is father”. In 2025 it ranked 2,742nd for boys in the UK (8 babies).
What does Yoab mean?
Hebrew: Hebrew Yoav, the source of Joab
“the Lord is father”
Joab was King David's nephew and the commander of his army.
Is Yoab a girl's or a boy's name?
Yoab is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Yoab in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,742nd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 8 about 1 in 37,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising fast up 267% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 8 boys in the UK were named Yoab, making it the 2,742nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,803rd.
2025 had the most boys named Yoab of any year since it first appeared, in 2020.
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,658th in England and Wales.
Yoab in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #2,742 |
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 5 | #3,639 |
| 2021 | 3 | #4,989 |
| 2020 | 3 | #4,803 |
Names like Yoab
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Yusuf, Yunus, Musa, Yaqub, Ayyub, Amir, Kairo, Muhammad, Yitzchok, Yoan, Yahya, Ruairi
Names related to Yoab
More Hebrew names
Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Samuel, Elias
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Yoab: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/yoab, updated 20 October 2026.