Jewish Names

As the song says, "Dinah, is there anyone finer?" Dinah is a charming, underused Old Testament name with a rich literary and musical resume.

This may be a legitimate Hebrew name denoting power, but to any American kid, it will evoke ruby slippers and a yellow brick road. The full Hebrew name is Ozni, who was a grandson of Jacob in the Bible.

Through all the years when Betty, Betsy, Beth, Liz, and Lizzie were the Elizabethan nicknames of choice, the bubblier Libby was set aside, but today it may be the most modern of all—it has already made a strong comeback in England and Wales, where it ranks Number 139.

Lively modern Hebrew name with a positive meaning.

Creative name whose only limitation is that it looks like it would be pronounced akin to Alicia and Elissa — although as a Biblical boys’ name, it is traditionally pronounced ee-LIE-shah.

A perfectly respectable Old Testament name ruined forever through its association with the odious Uriah Heep in David Copperfield. Some people also find this name just too close to the word urine. These negative connotations may be wearing off, however. (Perhaps because people don't read as much Dickens as they used to.)

Esti is most commonly a short form of Esther and Estelle, both making the big move from old lady name to cool young name. It's also a popular short form of the Basque names Estitxu and Estibalitz. In French Canada, it's an untranslatable swear word.

An Ethiopian place-name and multicultural diminutive for many names, including the Slavic Tatiana and the Spanish Cayetana. Tana is also a rare Frisian name, meaning "thought", as well as a masculine name meaning "sweetheart" in the Turkic Karachay-Balkar language.

Noam is an underused modern Hebrew name with any number of attractive attributes attached to its meaning; it doesn't have the biblical weight of Noah, but could make a more distinctive alternative to that popular choice. Noam is a Top 10 boys' name in Israel.

This name found in both Celtic and Scandinavian mythology has gone from all-boy to almost all-girl, retaining a strong, unisex quality. However, it has dropped following its three-decade heyday from the 1960s to the 1990s.

This Elizabeth nickname has a decidedly retro feel--think Betsy Ross and the Betsy Wetsy doll-- once seen as a perkier, younger-sounding alternative to Betty. But with Betty on the brink of a comeback, pigtailed Betsy could return as well.

Most people will assoicate it with the well-known children's singer.

There are many variations of this name, with or without the initial T and the final h, with one p or two. In the Bible she was the wife of Moses.

Gently old-fashioned stand-alone nickname that owes its popularity to mega popular Abigail.

Tobias-related name that makes an attractive and modern-sounding form of the biblical original. It was recently chosen by Karolina Kurkova for her son.

Somewhat dated Hebrew name that appears more modern when spelled Liora.

This Old Testament place name was in the Top 10 fifty years ago, but now Sharon, along with sound-alike Karen, have fallen out of favor.

Jewish parents in particular may be drawn to this quiet, composed name of the first king of Israel and the name of Saint Paul before his conversion. In modern times, it has been associated with Nobel Prize-winning novelist Saul Bellow. Its meaning makes it appropriate for a long-awaited child.

Saul is a character in a John Dryden poem, and heard in the Handel oratorio, "Saul."

The sweetest and most sensitive of the pet names for Elizabeth, now also one of the most dated.