English, French, and German: from the vernacular form of the Hebrew personal name Yehuda ‘Judah’ (of unknown meaning). In the Bible, this is the name of Jacob’s eldest son. It was not a popular name among Christians in medieval Europe, because of the associations it had with Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver. Among Jews, however, the Hebrew name and its reflexes in various Jewish languages (such as Yiddish Yude) have been popular for generations, and have given rise to many Jewish surnames. French: name for a Jew, Old French jude (Latin Iudaeus, Greek Ioudaios, from Hebrew Yehudi ‘member of the tribe of Judah’). English: from a pet form of Jordan.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press