Jewish Names

Alta, one of the newer names bookended by the letter A, has a meaning that might raise a child's self-esteem. It was the middle name of First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.

The name from which Jordan arose, Yarden has a nice combination of river imagery and a sound connoting a garden. Like Jordan, used for both sexes.

Simple Biblical name with an auspicious meaning. There are two men named Gad in the Old Testament — one the first son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the other a prophet of King David.

The modern name Dena can be considered to come from either of two Old Testament names. Adina, which means delicate, was the name of a male soldier in the Bible. Dinah, meaning judged, Dinah was the daughter of Jacob and Leah. Dena is a common name in Amish communities.

A name with an obvious meaning, for a long time associated with Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Nickname Goldie seems to be catching on in the celebrity community.

Many Americans will misunderstand it as Maya, but Maayan (also stylized as Ma'ayan) is a popular Israeli name used for both sexes.

Haskell has two separate forms of origin, the first being from the Ancient Norse given name Ásketill. The Normans converted Ásketill to Aschetil, then the English transformed Aschetil into Haskell, which was originally only used as a surname. Haskell is also considered a variant of Haskel, a Yiddish given name derived from Ezekiel.

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

Fewer letters does not always mean easier—the traditional spelling is the one most people will recognize.

An interesting and rhythmic name often heard in the Native American community; in fact,in the Gold Rush era in California and Nevada, it was so common that it became a generic English term for a Native American woman.

Hebrew name related to Ronit and Roni, also used in different cultures as Ronya, Ronja, and Roniya. Virtually unknown in the English-speaking world though certainly an easily-translatable choice.

Short and strong multicultural option for a son. Nev Schulman (born Yaniv) is the creator of the MTV series Catfish.

Russian form of Eli mainly used today by families with Russian Jewish heritage.

In modern Hebrew, sigal is the word for the violet flower.

Bright and bold traditionally masculine name used in Israel.

A unique option if you like the nickname Mei.