Girl · Hebrew · Old Testament

Judith

JOO-dith · means “Woman of Judah, praised”

Judith means "woman of Judah" and is closely tied to the idea of praise, since Judah itself means praise. In Scripture, Judith appears briefly in Genesis 26:34 as one of Esau's wives, a Hittite woman about whom very little else is recorded. The name is loved today mainly for its meaning rather than for a fully told biblical story.

“She said, "This time I will praise the Lord." So she named him Judah.”

The story behind the name

Judith has been used for centuries across Europe, valued for its strong, historic sound and its clear tie to Judah, one of the most significant tribal names in the Old Testament.

Scripture tells us only that Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, was one of the wives Esau took, and that this troubled his parents Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 26:34-35). Beyond her name and this brief family detail, the Bible does not record her story, her faith, or her character, and it would not be honest to claim more about her life than that.

What the name carries forward most clearly is its root in Judah, the tribe from which praise and eventually the Messiah Himself would come. Leah named her son Judah at his birth, saying she would praise the Lord (Genesis 29:35). A daughter named Judith carries that same call to praise, even where her own biblical namesake's story remains largely untold.

Middle names that sing with Judith

Chosen for rhythm and meanings that speak to each other.

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