Deborah

Hebrew

"bee"

Deborah Origin and Meaning

The name Deborah is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "bee".

Deborah has suffered from the fact that in the mid-twentieth century there were so many Debbies on the block that the beauty and meaning of the original name got lost. Deborah may no longer be among the most popular girl names starting with D, but now this lovely name of an Old Testament prophetess suddenly sounds fresher than overused Sarah, Rachel, and Rebecca.

The biblical Deborah was a poet, judge, and heroic prophet who first predicted that the Israelites would win their freedom from the tyrannical Canaanites, then led a successful revolt that helped accomplish it, celebrating the victory in a famous song of triumph.

Deborah was the second most popular name in the US in 1955, remaining in the Top 10 from 1950 to 1962. The streamlined version, Debra, was hot on its tail, replacing it at Number 2 a year later.

Some notable bearers have been Revolutionary War heroine Deborah Sampson Gannett, actress Deborah Kerr, modern operatic soprano Deborah Voight, Deborah (Blondie) Harry, and Debbie (born Mary Frances) Reynolds.

The original form Devorah is another possibility.

Deborah Rank in US Top 1000

# 971 in the US

Deborah Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 817 on Nameberry

Deborah Popularity

• 971 US 2023
• 817 Nameberry 2024
• 806 Future 2028
• 661 England 2023

20 Names Similar to Deborah

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Deborah.

• Debra
• Devorah
• Beulah
• Bathsheba
• Carol
• Judith
• Cheryl
• Linda
• Doveva
• Beverly
• Gerda
• Eartha
• Consuelo
• Ester
• Barbara
• Charity
• Bethany
• Carrie
• Elisheva
• Susan

Famous People Named Deborah

• Deborah Jane Kerr Scottish actress
• Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry American singer
• Deborah Ann "Debbie" Gibson American singer
• Deborah Anne "Debby" Boone American singer
• Deborah Ann "Debby" Ryan American actress
• Deborah Cox American R&B singer
• Deborah Pryce former U.S. Congresswoman from Ohio
• Deborah Mailman Australian actress
• Deborah Ann Woll American actress
• Deborah L. "Deb" Mell American politician
• Deborah Ann Conway Australian singer, formerly of band Do,Re,Mi
• Deborah Lynn Thurmond Allen American country music singer
• Deborah Kara Unger Canadian actress
• Deborah Voigt American operatic soprano
• Deborah Vivien (Mitford) Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire
• Deborah Esther Lipstadt American historian and author
• Deborah Lytton American novelist
• Deborah Read common,law wife of Benjamin Franklin

Deborah in Pop Culture

• Deborah Gale schoolmistress who sacrifices her personal life for her pupils in Ernest Poole's Pulitzer Prize,winning novel His Family (1917)
• Deborah Krillet 'the Shulamite' from Alice and Claude Askew's novels The Shulamite (1904) and The Woman Deborah (1910)
• Deborah "Debbie" Scott character on One Tree Hill
• Deborah Treverton character from Green city in the sun, by Barbara Wood
• Harriet Deborah Vane character in Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey books
• Deborah Jenkyns character in Cranford
• Deborah "Debbie" Thornberry character in the cartoon The Wild Thornberrys
• Deborah "Debbie" Ocean character on "Ocean's" series
• Deborah "Debbie" Gallagher youngest daughter on Showtime TV series Shameless