NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Jobe

A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "persecuted" or "supplanter".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Jobe is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Jobe popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1859, with 13 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2005, with 21 births.

This profile covers 285 England and Wales registrations across 28 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 62% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 283 living people in the UK are called Jobe. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Jobe ranked #1859 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 13 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2005, when 21 boys were registered as Jobe.
  • About 283 living people in the UK are estimated to have Jobe as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#1859

2024

Births in 2024

13

Latest year

Peak year

2005

21 births

Estimated living

283

2026

Meaning

What does Jobe mean?

The given name Jobe has its origins in the biblical name Job, which is derived from the Hebrew name Iyyov. The name Job appears in the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible, which is believed to have been written between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE. The story of Job is about a righteous man who endures immense suffering and tests of faith.

The name Job is thought to come from the Hebrew root 'ayab, meaning "to be hostile to" or "to be hostile with". Some scholars interpret the name as meaning "the persecuted one" or "the one who turns back to God". The spelling variation Jobe emerged as an Anglicized form of the name.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jobe was Jobe Lewis, an English clergyman and writer who lived from 1594 to 1675. He was known for his work "A Treatise of the Perpetual Visibility and Succession of the True Church in All Ages".

Another notable figure was Jobe Clements, an American pioneer and frontiersman who lived from 1776 to 1853. He was one of the early settlers in the Ohio River Valley and played a role in the settlement of Kentucky and Indiana.

In the 19th century, Jobe Borron (1817-1890) was a prominent American farmer and politician from Ohio. He served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives and was involved in the agricultural community.

Jobe Franklin (1846-1916) was an American politician and jurist from Missouri. He served as a judge in the Missouri Court of Appeals and was involved in various political organizations.

More recently, Jobe Fortner (1920-2005) was an American baseball player who played in the Major League Baseball (MLB) for teams like the St. Louis Browns and the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1940s and 1950s.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Jobe over time

The chart below shows babies named Jobe registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Jobe, the clearest high point is 2005. The latest England and Wales figure is 13 births in 2024, compared with 21 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Jobe
05111621199620102024

Decades

Jobe by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Jobe was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #3074 29 4
2010s #2552 85 10
2000s #1534 129 10
1990s #1307 42 4

Notable bearers

Famous people named Jobe

  • Jobe Bellingham

    association football player

    English footballer (born 2005)

    2005-

  • Jobe Murphy

    rugby league player

    English rugby league footballer

    1992-

Related

Names similar to Jobe

FAQ

Jobe: questions and answers

How popular is the name Jobe in the UK right now?

In 2024, Jobe was ranked #1859 for boys in England and Wales, with 13 births registered.

When was Jobe most popular?

The peak year on record was 2005, with 21 babies registered as Jobe in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Jobe?

A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "persecuted" or "supplanter".

How many people are called Jobe in the UK?

A total of 285 babies have been registered as Jobe across the 28 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.