Obadiah
2025 SSA
About Obadiah
For the seriously audacious biblical baby namer who wants to move beyond Elijah and Josiah, this name has considerable old-fangled charm. Obadiah, who gave his name to one of the shortest books in the Bible, was a rich man who had the gift of prophecy. There are several other men named Obadiah in the Bible, as well as a Saint Obadiah.
More recently, star basketball player Obi Toppin's formal name is Obadiah, after his father. There have been two prominent U.S. senators named Obadiah.
In literature, there is an Obadiah in Laurence Sterne's novel Tristan Shandy, one in Tobias Smollett's The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, and another in Anthony Trollope's Barchester Towers--as well as a villain in the Iron Man series.
Pronounced o-buh-DY-uh.
As of October 2026, Obadiah ranked #1630 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1412 in 2024.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,993 | 72 | 37.5 |
| 2015 | #1,689 | 93 | 48.5 |
| 2016 | #1,553 | 107 | 56.4 |
| 2017 | #1,638 | 97 | 52.4 |
| 2018 | #1,661 | 97 | 53.4 |
| 2019 | #1,673 | 96 | 53.5 |
| 2020 | #1,572 | 104 | 60.3 |
| 2021 | #1,675 | 99 | 56.6 |
| 2022 | #1,463 | 124 | 71 |
| 2023 | #1,554 | 113 | 66.1 |
| 2024 | #1,412 | 131 | 76 |
| 2025 | #1,630 | 104 | 60.9 |
World rankings
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Obadiah on lists
Famous Obadiahs
- Obadiah
grandson of Uzzi, brother of Michael, of the tribe of Issachar (1 Chr. 7:3)
- Obadiah
follower of David (1 Chr. 12:9)
- Obadiah
prince in King Jehoshaphat's day (2 Chr. 17:7)
- Obadiah
Levite overseer of Temple repairers in King Josiah's day (2 Chr. 34:12)
- Obadiah
son of Azel, descendant of King Saul's son Jonathan (1 Chr. 8:38)
- Obadiah
of the House of David (1 Chr. 3:21)
- Obadiah
Levite who dwelt at Jerusalem, son of Shemaiah (1 Chr. 9:16)
- Obadiah
son of Jehiel; returned to Israel with Ezra (Ezra 8:9)
- Obadiah ben Abraham
Italian rabbi and commentator on the Mishnah
- Obadiah German
U.S. Senator from New York
- Obadiah Gardner
U.S. Senator from Maine
- Obadiah Tarumbwa
Zimbabwean footballer
- Obadiah Nelson "Obie" Trotter
American,Hungarian basketball player
- Obadiah ben Abraham of Bartenura
Italian rabbi
- Obadiah the Proselyte
Italian,Jewish convert
- Obadiah Newcomb Bush
American prospector; founder of the Bush dynasty
- Obadiah Parker
stage name of Mat Weddle, American singer,songwriter
- Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno
Italian rabbi
Obadiah in pop culture
- Obadiah Stane
villain in the Iron Man series
- Obadiah Starbuck
protagonist of a series of picture books about the life of a Quaker boy on Nantucket Island
- Obadiah Prim
Quaker guardian of Anne Lovely in Susanna Centlivre's play A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1718)
- Lieutenant Obadiah Lismahago
fantastic Scottish soldier in The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771) by Tobias Smollett
- Obadiah Hakeswill
character in the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell