Hebrew Girls
- Shay
Origin:
Irish, HebrewMeaning:
"stately, gift"Description:
A variant spelling of either Irish Shea or Hebrew Shai, Shay feels at once vintage and modern.
- Shiloh
Origin:
Biblical place-name, HebrewMeaning:
"tranquil"Description:
Cool meets Born Again meets Brad and Angelina, who made Shiloh an instant star when they chose it for their daughter. While Shiloh has risen from obscurity thanks to its celebrity baby use, it hasn't become a star the way brother names Maddox and Pax have. It entered the Top 1000 in 2007, one year after the birth of Ms. Jolie-Pitt.
- Shira
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"my song"Description:
Popular Israeli choice, ripe for adoption here. Parents who great up in the 1980s may remember animated heroine Shira, Princess of Power.
- Tali
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"dew"Description:
Friendly and relaxed choice used by singer Annie Lennox for her daughter; Tal is a unisex Hebrew version.
- Talia
Origin:
Hebrew; Australian AboriginalMeaning:
"gentle dew from heaven; by the water"Description:
Talia is derived from the Hebrew elements tal, meaning "dew," and yah, in reference to God. In the mythology of one ancient sect, Talia was one of ten angels who attended the sun on its daily course. The occasionally homophonous name Thalia has unrelated Greek origins.
- Tavora
Origin:
Hebrew, feminine variation of TavorMeaning:
"break, fracture"Description:
Tavora is an attractive option, based on the name of a mountain in northern Israel. But the meaning of Tavora and brother name Tavor is less than optimal.
- Tova
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"good, pleasing"Description:
Lively modern Hebrew name with a positive meaning.
- Yona
Origin:
Cherokee or variation of Jonah, HebrewMeaning:
"bear; dove"Description:
A name with a double animal connection via two distinct origins, one Native American and the other Hebrew and Biblical. Yona is rare in the US but not unknown: It was given to a dozen baby girls in 2021.
- Zadie
Origin:
English variation of SadieMeaning:
"princess"Description:
When aspiring British writer Sadie Smith decided to change her name to the more distinctive and zippy Zadie at the age of fourteen, this attention-magnet name was born. But though it might sound like a modern initial-switch, Zadie was actually Number 539 in 1881, remaining in the Top 1000 for almost thirty years.
- Zahava
Origin:
Modern Hebrew nameDescription:
This is a Hebrew word name, created from the word zahav, meaning gold.
- Zara
Origin:
Hebrew and ArabicMeaning:
"blooming flower; God remembers"Description:
Zara has multiple origins, but most notably is a variation of Zahrah, a name derived from the Arabic zahrah, meaning "blooming flower." Zara can also be a diminutive of the Bulgarian name Zaharina, a feminine form of the Hebrew Zechariah. Today, Zara is heavily associated with the Spanish fast-fashion empire of the same name.
- Zelia
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"zealous, ardent"Description:
An appealing name almost unknown in our culture but with roots in several others; worldlier than cousins Celia and Delia.
- Zera
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"seeds, beginnings"Description:
More than zero, but perhaps too close to Vera.
- Zetta
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"olive"Description:
A rarely heard Hebrew name whose zippy first initial Z transforms it from dated Yetta-like image to more lively Catherine Zeta Jones-like appeal.
- Ziva
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"life"Description:
A zippy little international name. The Hebrew name relates to the month of Israeli independence. The Slavic Ziva (also spelled Živa and Siva) is a goddess of love, life and fertility.