Hebrew Names

Pronounced as-TAIR-ah, this is one of many frequently heard Israeli flower names. Other floral choices popular in Israel include Dafna, which means laurel; Dailia; Irit, which means daffodil; and Vered, which means rose.

Mattie ranked among the Top 1000 for boys a century ago, in the heyday of the nickname-name. Today, few parents would dream of putting it on the birth certificate, preferring it as a short form for the perennially-popular Matthew. Mattie is in the Top 1000 in the U.S. for girls.

Abiah is a gentle, rarely used Old Testament name belonging to Samuel's second son. This makes a good choice for the parent who wants a traditional biblical name that is not overly familiar.

The original Hebrew form of Jacob is resurfacing in the US charts after a several-decade-long hiatus. The Old Testament figure is considered the founding father of the Jewish nation, whose twelve sons descended into the twelve tribes of Israel.

A Hebrew name also used for girls, with many variations to choose from. Hadara is another version. The name is associated with the holiday of Sukkot.

Famous violinist-conductor Pinchas Zuckerman is the most famous modern bearer; the biblical Pinchas was the son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron -- both preferable name choices.

Talila is a pretty and novel name, somewhere between Talia and Tallulah.

Intriguing twist on several familiar names, though many people will mistake this for Elsa, Eliza, and so on.

Abijah is a truly unusual, truly unisex, truly appealing biblical name. There were several male Abijahs in the Bible, one of them, known as Abijah of Judah, was the fourth king of the House of David, and also a couple of females.

This Biblical bird name, a variant of Ephron, suddenly feels like it could be usable thanks to actor Zac Efron. However, in reality, few if any parents seem to be using it yet.

Funky choice with za-za-zoom. Zaza could be used as a nickname for almost any name with the "za" cluster, including Elizabeth and Esperanza.

An energetic name with an embroidered feel.

More orthodox spelling of a name that also appears as Hazaiah and Hazaia. An obscure Biblical choice that has some modern zest.

Soft yet strong.

Popular in Israel for girls and boys born on Shavout, a harvest festival. In Babylonian mythology, Dagan was the god of the earth and grain.

Idiosyncratic Hebrew choice.

Biblical wife of Moses whose name has many variations, with and without the initial T and final h, with one p or two. However you spell it, it's an original choice that also carries teasing potential; those zipper jokes will get old fast, though Zippy is a cute nickname.

Think of this as the Hebrew equivalent of Benedict or Benito; best for observant Jews.

The name of an angel in the Zohar, Nuriel is related to the Arabic name Nur.