The name Jehoiachin comes directly from the Hebrew יהויכין (yǝhōyākîn, pronounced ye-ho-ya-KEEN), where it is the name for the king of Judah who was taken to Babylon in the first exile of 598 BCE described in 2 Kings 24:8–16. This theophoric name combines the shortened form of the personal name of the Hebrew deity, יה (Yāh) and the Hebrew verb כון (kūn), which means "to be firm, or to establish." This combination renders "Yah(weh) has established."

After his father, Jehoiakim, died during a siege of Jerusalem, Jehoiachin (also referred to in the Bible as Coniah) was made king long enough to surrender and be taken to Babylon. Both 2 Kings 25:27 and Ezekiel 1:2 use his exile to establish official dates, implying that they saw Jehoiachin as the legitimate king.