Obadiah

/OW-V-AA-D-IY-Y-AA/

Boy JewishChristian Hebrew origin AmericanEuropean

Servant of the LORD, from Hebrew obed or eved (servant) joined with Yah (the LORD). A prophetic biblical name, borne by the shortest book of the Hebrew prophets, it frames devotion as humble service, casting the bearer as one whose life is given over wholly to God.

See Obadiah scored for your family

Meaning & origin

Obadiah is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, traditionally used in Jewish families. The name means "Servant of the LORD, from Hebrew obed or eved (servant) joined with Yah (the LORD). A prophetic biblical name, borne by the shortest book of the Hebrew prophets, it frames devotion as humble service, casting the bearer as one whose life is given over wholly to God." and belongs to the Divine cluster — names rooted in sacred meaning and spiritual tradition.

Beyond its Jewish heritage, Obadiah is also used in Christian traditions, reflecting how this name has traveled across cultures.

Common among American, European, MiddleEastern, Israeli families, Obadiah carries cultural weight that goes beyond its dictionary definition — it's a name with a story and a community.

Numerology of Obadiah

Numerology assigns each name a single-digit destiny number by summing its letter values. Different schools use different mappings — NameRoot computes both so you can see how Obadiah resonates in either tradition.

Pythagorean
4
stability and disciplined work
Chaldean
3
creativity and joyful expression

How Obadiah sounds

NameRoot scores the phonetic fit of every name against the sound of your last name. The pronunciation of Obadiah breaks down into 7 phonemes: /OW-V-AA-D-IY-Y-AA/. In the app, you'll see how those sounds flow with your family name across rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters.

Nicknames

Common affectionate forms of Obadiah — useful for everyday family conversation, early childhood, or as standalone given names themselves.

ObadiObad

The six signals, applied to Obadiah

NameRoot scores every name across six independent dimensions. Here's how Obadiah maps to each — install the app to see the full compatibility score for your specific family.

01 — Birth Star
Nakshatra match
Enter your baby's birth date in the app and we'll compute the nakshatra compatibility score.
02 — Numerology
Destiny alignment
Pythagorean and Chaldean life-path calculations (destiny 4) matched against your family's own numerology profile.
03 — Phonetics
Last-name fit
Rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters measured with IPA to see how Obadiah flows with your family name.
04 — Meaning
Divine
Obadiah belongs to the Divine cluster — names rooted in sacred meaning and spiritual tradition.
05 — Cultural & Tradition
Jewish
As a Jewish name, Obadiah carries religious and cultural weight scored against your family's heritage — plus grandparent-name matches, saint's-day alignment, and generational naming patterns scored against your family tree.
06 — Uniqueness
Popularity balance
How common Obadiah is today versus historically — finding the sweet spot between familiar and forgotten.

Names similar to Obadiah

If Obadiah resonates with you, these names live in the same world — drawn from the same tradition, sharing the same meaning, or echoing a similar sound.

From the same tradition

Other Jewish boy names, common in American families

Liam
Irish diminutive of William (Uilliam), from Germanic 'wil' (will) + 'helm' (helmet). Global phenomenon.
Noah
Rest, comfort, repose, from Hebrew Noach, linked to the root meaning to rest or bring relief. Borne in scripture by the builder of the ark who outlasted the flood, it has stayed in continuous Western use and now sits among the most-given boys' names worldwide.
Oliver
From Latin olivarius (olive tree cultivator) or from the Frankish Olivier.
George
Farmer, earth worker — the patron saint of England, the name of six kings, and Prince George of Cambridge. England's defining name.

Sharing the same meaning

Other Jewish boy names from the Divine cluster

Elijah
My God is Yahweh, the fiery prophet who rode a chariot to heaven — Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, called fire from the sky, and was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind without dying. His name burns with the absolute devotion of a man who stood alone against an entire kingdom's apostasy and won, armed with nothing but conviction and the fire of the one true God
Theodore
Gift of God, heaven's offering to the mortal world — Theodore reverses the syllables of Dorothy to create the same meaning from a masculine angle: God gives. Multiple saints and two American presidents carried this name, and it speaks of gratitude for the divine generosity that places children into families, talents into hands, and purpose into hearts that were waiting to be filled
Jack
God is gracious, by way of Jankin, a medieval English pet form of John (from Hebrew Yohanan, 'Yahweh is gracious'). Once a familiar nickname, it long ago outgrew that role to stand on its own and has repeatedly topped boys' name charts across Britain.

Names that sound similar

Jewish boy names that open with the same syllables as Obadiah

Owen
Young warrior, well-born and noble, the English form of the Welsh Owain, often linked to a root meaning youth or nobility. Borne by Welsh princes and heroes of legend, it crossed from Wales into mainstream English use while keeping its proud, well-born ring.
Or
Light — Or is simply the Hebrew word for "light," the most concise possible name in modern Israeli Hebrew naming. The single-syllable form captures the foundational concept of light in Jewish tradition, beginning with the first divine command in Genesis: "Let there be light" (yehi or). Used for both genders.
Oren
Pine tree — Oren (Hebrew אורן) is the Hebrew word for the pine tree. The pine appears in Isaiah 41:19 among the trees God plants in the wilderness as a sign of restoration. A nature-name from the Israeli landscape.

Common questions about Obadiah

What does the name Obadiah mean?

Obadiah means "Servant of the LORD, from Hebrew obed or eved (servant) joined with Yah (the LORD). A prophetic biblical name, borne by the shortest book of the Hebrew prophets, it frames devotion as humble service, casting the bearer as one whose life is given over wholly to God.." It is a boy name of Hebrew origin, traditionally used in Jewish families.

Is Obadiah a boy or girl name?

Obadiah is most commonly used as a boy name.

What is the origin of the name Obadiah?

Obadiah is of Hebrew origin, used in Jewish, Christian traditions, commonly among American, European, MiddleEastern families.

What are common nicknames for Obadiah?

Common short forms of Obadiah include Obadi, Obad.

What is the numerology of Obadiah?

Obadiah has a Pythagorean destiny number of 4 — stability and disciplined work.

See how Obadiah scores for your family

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