Jotham
Meanings & Origins
"God is perfect, Yahweh is upright"
"blameless and complete before God"
Popularity
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“A rare biblical king's name meaning God is perfect”
Origin & Etymology
Jotham comes from the Hebrew Yotam meaning God is perfect or Yahweh is upright — from Yo (a contracted form of Yahweh) and tam (complete, perfect, blameless). In the Hebrew Bible, Jotham appears as the son of the judge Gideon, who escaped the massacre of his brothers and delivered the first parable recorded in scripture. A second Jotham was a king of Judah who reigned from approximately 750 BCE and was praised as righteous before God.
Popularity Story
Jotham has always been rare, even within biblical naming traditions. It sees occasional use among devout Christian and Jewish families drawn to obscure Old Testament names. Its rarity makes it genuinely distinctive among the growing wave of fashionable biblical boys names like Noah, Elijah, and Caleb.
Cultural Significance
In the Hebrew Bible, Jotham son of Uzziah was among the kings of Judah considered righteous. The name carries significant religious weight in both Jewish and Christian traditions. The parable of Jotham son of Gideon — told to the men of Shechem from the top of Mount Gerizim — is the oldest fable recorded in the Bible.
Fun Facts
- Jotham appears in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew
- King Jotham of Judah reigned approximately 750-735 BCE
- The parable of Jotham in Judges 9 is the oldest recorded fable in the Bible