Hebrew Names

Old Testament name of a son of Moses used by the Puritans, and now by Orthodox Jews.

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

In the Bible, a son of Abraham and Keturah; this ancient and musical name nonetheless sounds like a character in a 1950s science fiction movie.

Highly unusual; conceivable alternative to Daniel.

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

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

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.

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.

An alternative to the more familiar Aviva.

This name of a minor Hebrew prophet in the Old Testament is rarely heard outside the Jewish culture.

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

Feminine name consistently popular in the Latino community.

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.

Has a pleasantly fizzy, effervescent feeling.

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.

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.

Sharp and sleek, it refers to Benjamin being compared to a wolf in Genesis.

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".

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