Jewish Girl Names

In the Bible, Elim is an oasis where the Israelites stopped during their Exodus from Egypt. It is a place of plenty representing the natural blessings of God, with twelve springs of fresh water and seventy date palm trees to provide food and shade.

Hila is a name that has grown in popularity in recent years, placing it firmly within Israel's Top 20 for girls. It is sometimes written as Hilla or Hilah. In Pashto, it means "hope" and is also spelled Heela.

Fashionable choice in modern Israel, also a place-name there, not likely to succeed here.

From Hebrew, Oria is a variation of Oriya, created by combining Ori meaning "light" with yah indicating God. From Italian, it is a variation of the Latin Aurea, a golden Saint name, once popular in Spain.

Too close to yenta.

Itta is a cute old-fashioned name that arose parallelly as a nickname for Yehudit, used among Ashkenazi Jews, and a variation of Ita, an Irish name.

Spelling variation of Meital.

A diminutive of the Yiddish name Yente, ultimately from French gentille meaning "noble, aristocratic". Barbra Streisand played a character named Yentl in a 1983 film of the same name.

The Biblical name of a great prophet and judge who helped organize an army and effect a major victory over the Canaanites. Sounds much fresher than the Anglicized Deborah.

This Hebrew water name has two main popular associations: Mayim Bialik, who played the title role in the early 90s TV series "Blossom," and the popular Israeli folk dance, "Mayim, Mayim."

A jewel-encrusted choice, far more unusual than Pearl.

A variation of the Old Testament Bithiah, Batya is a Hebrew variant of the name. Derived from bat meaning "daughter" and yah meaning "Yahweh", Batya (or Bithiah) is the name of one of Pharaoh's daughters, often depicted as the one to take Moses out of the Nile.

Tehila may at first appeal as a distinctive choice. Danger: might tend to sound like a mispronunciation of tequila.

A modern Hebrew translation of Shayna, the Yiddish word for "beautiful," and commonly heard in Israel.

Hebrew name with a bright sheen.

Ronit is only used on girls in Israel, but last year in the US it was given to more male than female babies.