Hebrew Names

Panna is a name with many allusions — in addition to those above, a serene and sacred city in India and the Italian word for cream. Panna might make a fresh alternative to Anna or Hannah.

An important biblical name, being the wife of Moses in Exodus. Has a number of spelling variations, including Tziporah, Zipora(h), Zippora(h), Tzipor and Tzipori. The Yiddish forms are Tzeitl and Tzertel.

Eliyahu is the Hebrew form of the increasingly popular Biblical prophet name Elijah, also found in forms Elias and Eli. There were 100 boys given the name Eliyahu in the U.S. in 2012. Its upside is that it's one of the most distinctive forms of the name, but that final yahoo may prove difficult.

One of the most unusual of the biblical iah-options, this was the name of a long-reigning king of Judea, and just might appeal to the parent looking for a quasi-unique Old Testament choice. And it avoids the negative Dickensian aura of the other New Testament U-name, Uriah.

Familiar as the most common form of greeting in Hebrew, but also associated with top female model Shalom Harlow.

Adaiah is a rare Old Testament name with a pleasing sound.

Hagar is an Old Testament name with an unfortunate association with comic strip character "Hagar the Horrible."

This modernized version of Yehudah is the source of on popular choice Judah and is traditionally given to boys born at Chanukah — a Jewish festival of lights and rededication which is celebrated in the winter. Yehuda first appeared on the US Top 1000 in 200 and, as of 2023, it has ranked consistently since 2014. The Yehudah spelling has never ranked, while Judah is used six times more often than Yehuda.

Has a pleasantly fizzy, effervescent feeling.

Also a city near Tel Aviv, Hadar is a name found primarily in Israel. There is also a citrus fruit associated with the holiday of Sukkat the Torah calls the "hadar fruit".

Model Trish Goff's Nima is a boy, but the a ending gives this name a feminine feel.

An alternative to the more familiar Aviva.

This rare name crosses cultures. With the popularity of Ella and Bella, perhaps we'll hear more of Pella one day soon?

In Genesis, this is the name of a son of Abraham and Keturah, and it's also a place name. Negative meaning aside, Midian is an attractive name with deep roots that's exceedingly rare. They call that a Trifecta.

Highly unusual; conceivable alternative to Daniel.

A middle-aged, if not elderly, name associated with Israeli statesman and onetime prime minister Begin, this is a symbolic appellation for boys born on the holiday of Tishah-b'Ab.

Aharon is one of the many variations of the Old Testament Aaron, one of the first Biblical patriarch names to become trendy in the modern world.

Feminine name consistently popular in the Latino community.

Shulamit--which has a variety of different spellings--is a serious-sounding Old Testament name that appears in the Song of Songs. Its common nickname is Shula, which is sometimes used on its own. Toni Morrison used the sleeker variation Sula in one of her novels.

More familiar to English speakers as Reuben, Jacob and Leah's first son and a founder of one of the Tribes of Israel.