Jewish Names

A wonderful Yiddish diminutive of Sarah, most familiar to Americans as the name of Tevye’s eldest daughter in Joseph Stein’s Fiddler on the Roof.

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.

Although it derives from the male name Haniel — the name of an angel in Jewish mythology — Anael is mostly used for girls.

Alter was originally used as an epithet for the eldest when in the company of one with the same name. Jewish parents also used it for their sons who were born sickly or after the death of an older sibling in an effort to ward off death.

A virtually unheard of girl name with a lot of potential — giving classic Sara an elegant and extra-princessy spin.

Cute nickname with multicultural appeal — in addition to Yoav, Yovi could be short for names such as Yovan and Yovani.

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

Looks modern, but sounds like the dated Ronnie.

A more scriptural way to spell Abraham.

A popular name for both sexes in Israel, in the Top 10 for boys and Top 100 for girls.

A super quirky and upbeat choice, if it can ever shake off its ubiquitous-guy Woody Allen identity.

This is a rarely heard multi-cultural name, related to a 14th century Jewish scholar named Kalonymous ben Kalonymous, who translated important texts from Arabic to Hebrew. It is also a Hungarian derivative of Colman, via the Latin Columba, meaning dove, and was the name of a 12th century king of Hungary. Its modern sound make it an interesting option.

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.

Hava is an anglicization of the Hebrew name Chava, which, like its English form Eve, means "life". In some accents, it may sound like "have a", so it's worth considering if this will be an issue combined with a last name. But overall, it's an elegantly simple name with a great meaning.

Strong, interesting nature name reminiscent of Biblical favorites Ezra and Boaz.

This modernized version of Yehudah could be assimilated further by making it Judah. The name is traditionally given to boys born at Chanukah. It first appeared on the US Top 1000 in 2001.

The modern Hebrew variation of Ithai, a name from the Old Testament.

A soft and lovely Hebrew name with an equally lovely meaning. Variations include Ahavah, Ahaba, Ahabah, Ahuva and Ahuvah.