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Home β€Ί Baby Names Directory β€Ί Obed

Obed

β™‚ Boy

Pronounced OH-behd /ˈoʊ.bΙ›d/Medium

Meaning: Serving, worshippingMedium

In 30 seconds: Obed is a biblical name meaning 'serving' or 'worshipping'. It belongs to the line that leads to King David.
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Origin MediumBiblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
MeaningServing, worshipping
U.S. rank (2025)#2072 β†˜ Falling
2025 U.S. births72 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year2005
Total births (all-time)β‰ˆ 4,135

Popularity in the U.S. Β· SSA data

peak 200518802025

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Rooted in the Bible, Obed carries the sense of serving or worshipping. In Scripture he is the son of Boaz and Ruth and the grandfather of King David, and he appears in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew and Luke. That makes the name a meaningful thread in the biblical family tree.

Short and steady, Obed has a quiet dignity to it. Its recorded variations, such as Abdul and Abdel, point to the wider Semitic sense of a servant or worshipper across related traditions.

Did you know? Obed appears in the Old Testament, which helped preserve it across centuries of Jewish and Christian naming traditions.
Overall data confidence 78%
Behind the Name - Obed β€” etymology, usage, pronunciation, and related formsU.S. Social Security Administration β€” 2024 popularity rank and count supplied in the batch input CSV

Variations

AbdAbdelAbdoAbduhAbdul

Nicknames

β€”

Famous Bearers

  • β˜…Obed (biblical)
    Biblical figure, son of Boaz and Ruth and grandfather of King David, named in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

If you like Obed…

Abdulβ€” A related form within Obed's variation set carrying the 'servant' sense.
Boazβ€” Obed's father in the biblical account, from the same family story.
Osheaβ€” a fellow Biblical choice
Shiloβ€” another Biblical name
Zurielβ€” lands in the same popularity range

Explore names like Obed

By themebiblical

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Obed mean?

Obed is usually explained as meaning 'serving, worshipping' and is most often linked with Biblical tradition.

How do you pronounce Obed?

It's commonly said OH-behd /ˈoʊ.bΙ›d/.

Is Obed a boy or girl name?

In this batch and in recent U.S. usage data, Obed is used as a boy name.

How popular is Obed?

In 2024, Obed ranked #1945 in the U.S. for boys, with 81 births recorded.

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