Meaning & Origin
A surname transferred from the given name.
Judd is a boy's baby name of Hebrew origin, a medieval English surname form of Jordan or Judah, ultimately meaning 'praised' or 'one who descends from the Jordan River.' It arrived in America as both a surname and a given name, carried by frontier settlers and literary characters alike.
Judd has an unpretentious, two-fisted American quality — it's short, sturdy, and completely un-fussy. From Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club to modern country music, the name has a working-class heroism that never needs to announce itself.