Hebrew form of Obadiah (עֹבַדְיָה) meaning 'servant of God,' borne by a minor prophet in the Bible.
Ovadia is the original Hebrew form of the name the English-speaking world knows as Obadiah — a compound of the Hebrew root eved ("servant") and Yah, the abbreviated divine name, yielding the devotional meaning "servant of God" or "worshiper of the Lord." The name appears multiple times in the Hebrew Bible, most notably as the author of the Book of Obadiah, the shortest of the twelve minor prophetic books, a text of just twenty-one verses delivering a fierce oracle against the nation of Edom.
Another biblical Ovadia was a chief steward in the palace of King Ahab who famously hid a hundred prophets in caves to protect them from Queen Jezebel — a figure of quiet, courageous faithfulness. In Jewish tradition, Ovadia has maintained unbroken usage for three millennia, carried by medieval scholars, Sephardic sages, and Yemenite communities who preserved its original phonology when other communities adapted it to Obadiah. The great twelfth-century commentator Ovadiah ben Jacob Sforno is among its most celebrated bearers.
In recent generations the name has enjoyed a modest revival beyond strictly religious Jewish communities, as parents across different backgrounds have been drawn to Hebrew names that feel ancient and meaningful without being overexposed. Ovadia lands on the tongue with a warmth and depth that its briefer English cousin Obadiah lacks, and it carries the full weight of its scriptural heritage with quiet confidence.