Hebrew Names

Earthier version of the name of England's first female professional writer, Aphra Behn.

Malachi is one of the surprise Biblical hits of recent years, in the US Top 200, and now spelling variation Malaki is in the Top 1000 too. Both names are pronounced with a long final i, as in "eye," but the Irish variation Malachy is MAL-ah-kee, which Malaki might mimic instead.

An appealing name almost unknown in our culture but with roots in several others; worldlier than cousins Celia and Delia.

More modern options: Shaw, Shay, or even Sean.

Rarely used biblical choice -- he's a son of Jacob -- with a bit of a white-bearded image.

One of the rarer names to come from the Bible, Cherith has a fresh and modern sound despite its ancient roots. Cherith was the name of the stream that kept Elijah alive during the three years' drought which he announced to King Ahab. In English, Cherith pleasingly reminds one of the word cherish which is another plus to this underused girls' name.

Multicultural name often heard in the Near East. Also spelled Neema.

Hephzibah is an Old Testament name that came into use in the 17th century, but is not often used today. It does have less formal nicknames Eppie and Hepsie, which seem revivable. Hephzibah "Eppie" Cass/Marner is the heroine of George Eliot's novel Silas Marner and Hepzibah (the condensed spelling) Smith is a witch in the Harry Potter series.

Sources say that Bina, which is close to the word for bee in Yiddish, was once used as a translation for the Hebrew Deborah, which means bee. On its own, it also means "understanding" in Hebrew. Simple and sweet in itself, it could also be short for (or a nod to) many names including Sabina, Robina, Columbina, and Jacobina.

A feminization used more before Jordan joined the girls' camp.

Despite its Irish sound, this commonly used word name has usually been confined to Jewish families.

Eliška is warm and friendly, in the Misha, Sasha mode.

Because of its meaning, this is a symbolic name given to girls born on Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights.

Simple and worldly, popular and carrying two positive meanings in two diverse cultures. A winner prime for wider use.

This form of the Biblical Rachel is well-used despite its somewhat counter-intuitive spelling which can make English speakers think the name should be pronounced with a k sound, as in Raquel. The spelling may be inspired by Michael, but it's pronounced just like Rachel, with a soft ch. Lately it's on the decline, dropping more than 100 places in 2009 and leaving the US Top 1000 in 2013.

Rarely used in the last two centuries, but might be worth dusting off and holding up to the light.

The Elissa version of a long-popular name is fading in favor of Alyssa, Eliza and other variants. The legion of other forms and spellings includes Alissa, Allissa, Allyssa, Alyssa, Elissah, Ellisa, Ellissa, Ellyssa, Elys, Elyssa, Elyssia, Ilissa, Ilysa, Ilyssa, Lissa, Lissie, Lissy Lyssa.

Sam as a name standing on its own was given to only 18 girls in 2021, versus over 400 boys. But as a short form it's appealing and down-to-earth for both sexes, and heard far more often: There were over 2500 baby girls named Samantha in the US in one recent year and more than 8500 boys named Samuel, so you will hear the name Sam a lot more often than you might guess judging by the numbers for this short form. Like the wildly popular Charlie, Sam is a nickname that works equally well as a girls' name as a boys'. All forms considered, Sam is still one of the most popular names that start with S.

Sprightly.

Strongly associated with the city of Tel Aviv. For girls, may be lengthened to Aviva; for boys, might be better abbreviated to Avi.