Update: I’ve opened a Forum for Israeli Baby Name Help
See also 20 Popular Israeli Names for Girls, 2010
Alison left the following comment:
I am an American Jew and I am trying to find popular Israeli girl names.
We are due in April with a girl and we’d like to give her a Hebrew name (her older brother is named Avishai Navon). Both my husband and I have come up with several but none we can agree upon. I have been doing lots of web searches to try and find current Israeli girl names but I keep coming up with the same few.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as we are at a road block at this point.
First of all, thank you for visiting and I wish you an easy pregnancy and birth.
In 2006, the most popular girls’ names were: Noa, *Shira, *Maya, *Yael, Tamar, Sarah, *Roni, Agam, Michal, and *Adi. My 4-year-old has friends in gan with the starred names. We also have Ayelet, Shahar, Aviya, and Dalia. Dalia is old-fashioned–I don’t know if it’s making a comeback.
A lot depends on the “migzar.” Haredim, national religious, and secular Israelis choose different types of names, although there is a lot of overlap. The trends for girls’ names change more quickly than for boys.
Readers, please comment with names of girls in your neighborhood, especially babies. Alison, let us know if you want help with the connotations of a particular name.
Popular Israeli Names for Girls
Popular Israeli Names for Boys
Help This Reader Choose a Hebrew Baby Name (November 2009)
More Popular Israeli Baby Names (April 2010)
Help Readers Choose an Israeli Baby Name (June 2010)
Israeli Baby Name Help Needed (November 2010)
Needed: Israeli Baby Girl Name Suggestions (September 2010)
What does Nissan mean? I think it is a car company in America. No offense! I like it.
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Nissan is the name of the Hebrew month. Passover began on the 15th of Nissan. No offense taken, april.
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So Tali is nickname for Tal, and Zivaleh is nickname for Ziva? Nicknames that i know of are shorter than the actual name. hehe. that’s cool. I like Tal. Does anyone know the origin of the name Mika? My friends nephew is named Mika like “Me-kah” and he says it is hebrew. I like it alot too. Thank you.
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april, LOL. Yes, Israelis do add syllables for nicknames. “-ush” is one of the funnier ones, for small children.
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My daughter is called Meital we call her Meitali or Meitalush less regularly!
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The name Mika is from the prophet Michah and it means “Who is like G-d”
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-onet or -yonet is another affection ending. Like they call my daughter, Talia, “Talyonet” or “boobonet” (booba is a baby doll.) I don’t know how you choose which ending goes with which name. I think my older daughter, Adele, is “Adeloosh.” Maybe it’s more for names ending in consonents, like Smadar becomes “Smadaroosh.” Sara, Yaffa, and Tova become Saraleh, Yaffaleh, and Tovaleh. Boys names often get shorter with a looser connection to the full name like Yitchak can be Itzik or Tzachi; Mordechai can be Motti.
Yosefa recently posted..Matzoh Ball Soup
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Cool!! Thank you! I love Hebrew and Israeli names!! I want to visist Israel, alot!!! Sorry to be off topic of Israeli names. Is Tzeitel a common name?
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April, no, it’s a Yiddish name not commonly used except possibly in Hasidic circles.
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if maddy(my friend) was an Israeli name what ending do you think would go on it? April, i do not think can have an ending. I feel awful barging in on your baby name blog when i am not having a baby or picking out names right now. I love learning the names and i would love, love love to visit Israel and stay for…. forever maybe?:) Im sure knowing these names will come in handy.
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among my israeli family,
Koral (almog),
Liel (lee-elle),
Heli,
Elinor (alinor),
Ayala,
Arianna,
Aliza,
Yudith,
Sheli,
Eilat,
Sapir,
Ofra,
and Liora
are the names that keep coming back for girls (2-3+ aunts, cousins and second cousins all with the same name LOL)
My daughter’s name is Ayala(I LOVED the name from the first time I heard it) and at her Gan there are Maegan, Michaela, Eden, Oshri, and Gabriella.
I know I’m late, but hopefully this helps SOMEBODY out some time or another.
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leelee, this post still gets a lot of views. Thanks for posting!
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Hi,
I am looking for pretty girls names starting with E, L or S that specifically are NOT common. I dont want to give my child a “popular” name but rather am looking for something unusual, or mystic, or exotic. However, it still needs to be easily pronouncable by non-jews as my child will have ONE name, and not a separate english and hebrew name.
If you have any uncommon but still nice sounding and pretty names for girls please let me know!
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Hi,
I am looking for pretty girls names starting with E, L or S that specifically are NOT common. I dont want to give my child a “popular” name but rather am looking for something unusual, or mystic, or exotic. However, it still needs to be easily pronouncable by non-jews as my child will have ONE name, and not a separate english and hebrew name.
If you have any uncommon but still nice sounding and pretty names for girls please let me know!
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What about Solia? I think it is different and beautiful. “Sole-e-uh”
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Never heard of Solia, April. My daughter says it’s too close to suliah, meaning sole of a shoe.
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What do you think of Eliana and Levia?
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All of the Elianas I know are American or American immigrants. Levia, female lion, isn’t popular these days but I like it!
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Eliezra, Eliraz, Eshbal, Lior, Lital, Liron, Liel, Sapir
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I am interested in learning modern/popular girls’ names in Israel. Looking for a name that is easy to pronounce in English and (very important to my husband) is not “dated.” Other family members have already used: Noa, Tamar, Talia, Maya, Sapir, Liel, Lior. While I love those names, I am hoping to find something different. Would love to hear what is popular in Israel now for girls.
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Check out today’s post, Jennifer: http://www.amotherinisrael.com/top-20-israeli-baby-names-for-girls-2010/
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Thank you!!
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I would love to hear people’s thoughts on the name Zelda, for an Israeli.
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My thoughts are. . . don’t do it.
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I’ve often wondered about a particular name. In my daughter’s school there are a lot of Adeni girls, more or less all from the same extended family, and a few of them are called Natalia.
I find this a bit strange because it sounds like a Christian name to me (Natal = Christmas?), so it’s always intrigued me but I never dared ask their mum as I don’t want to offend them obviously.
Is Natalia a common name for Yemenite girls in Israel?
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I was just talking about this the other day. It seems to be common among Russians and Moroccans–the Moroccans because Natalie is a common French name. I don’t know if it’s common for Yemenites to use French names as well.
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mother in israel recently posted..We Learned Not to Ask: Second-Generation Holocaust Story
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Hi ,
I m a father from Asia .
I have studied extensively the history of Israel from my childhood .
My wife now is in her 6th month pregnancy .
The ultrasound show its a girl .
Do you have any name for a baby girl ?
Starts with letter ‘ R ‘ as my 1st daughter s name is Rachel .
Rivka and Rebecca was taken by other relatives .
Thanks
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Hi There,
I know this is an older thread, but have a question about a baby name for a girl I was hoping someone could help with. My husand and I are expecting and would like to name after my grandma, whose name starts with L. We want to give the child a Hebrew name. I like Leah, which is my grandma’s hebrew name, but it has just been used by a relative on his side after a different family member and I wouldn’t want to offend them. I remember briefly meeting a dati luemi Israeli a while ago with the name Livia and just fell in love with the name. Do you have any insight or thoughts on the name Livia? Are there any connotations with it? Is it tied to a particular community or generation?
Thanks so much for your help!
Sarah
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Hi Sarah,
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Leviah, meaning female lion, is not popular these days. Lavi for boys is still used. Do you like Lior or Libi?
Hannah Katsman recently posted..Modern Israeli Baby Girl Names, April 2013
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