Jotham

I recently learned Jotham might be a family name!  Jotham is a surprisingly unusual Bible name.  In 2015, only 26 boys were given this name, which means “Yahweh is upright.”    

One of the Jothams listed in the Bible was a king of Judah.  The relevant passage (2 Chronicles 27) is fairly short but portrays a pious man who focused on infrastructure.  The other Biblical Jotham was a son of Gideon.  Gideon apparently had 71 sons, and one of them, Abimelech, tried to kill the other seventy to become king.  Jotham was the sole survivor of this assassination attempt (Judges 9). 

There are more ‘recent’ instances of the name Jotham.  Jotham Post, Jr. served as a U.S. Congressman (from New York) between 1813 and 1815, and a Jotham Johnson served as an archaeologist in the mid 20th century.

All in all, Jotham isn’t someone you’re likely to meet in the 21st century.  This is a name ripe for the picking – especially as a radical alternative to Gotham (which was given to 46 boys last year…na-na-na-na BATMAN!) or more radically to classic Jonathan (given to over 7,500 boys last year).  And because it belonged to a Biblical king, it’s an unusual royal name too.  With all the babies named Henry and William running around, equally handsome Jotham would stand out in the crowd! 

What do you think of the name Jotham?  Bonus points – King Jotham’s parents were named Uzziah and Jerusha…respectively bestowed on 49 boys and 9 girls in 2015!