Avital ( he, אֲבִיטַל ''’Ăḇîṭāl'') is a Hebrew given name of

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

origin. Traditionally a female given name, its modern usage is

unisex Unisex is an adjective indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of sex. The term can also mean gender-blindness or gender neutrality. The term 'unisex' was coined as a neologism in the 1960s and was used fairly inf ...

. Avital is also used as a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

Etymology

"Abital" translates to ''dewy'' (as in,

morning dew "Morning Dew," also known as "(Walk Me Out in the) Morning Dew," is a contemporary folk song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bonnie Dobson. The lyrics relate a fictional conversation in a post-nuclear holocaust world. Originally recorded live as a ...

) or ''my father is hedew'' (''Ab-i'' means "my father"; ''-i'' is possessive pronoun for "my"). The name refers to

dew Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation. As the exposed surface cools by radiating its heat, atmospheric moisture condenses at a rate greater than that at wh ...

, the phenomenon of water droplets that occur on exposed objects in the morning or evening due to

condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor to ...

Place name

The surname could potentially be a

place name Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

for the Avital moshav in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, named in 1953. Alternatively, Mount Avital/Tall Abu an Nada (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: הר אביטל, ''Har Avital'',

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: تل أبو الندى, ''Tall Abu an Nada'') is a mountain that is part of a

dormant volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

.
South Lebanon and Vicinity 1976
'
Golan Heights and vicinity 1994
' It does not appear to have any correlation with the Avital moshav, being over an hour's drive away.

Biblical character

The name was popularized by minor biblical character Abital, who is mentioned in the book of Samuel as one of King

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

's wives ( II Samuel 3:4). Abital gave birth to David's fifth son, Shephatiah, another minor biblical character.

People

As given name (female)

Avital Sharansky Avital Sharansky (born Natalia Stieglitz ( uk, Наталія Стігліц, russian: Наталья Штиглиц) in Ukraine, 1950; married name also Shcharansky)Beckerman, Gal. ''When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone.'' Boston, New York: Houghto ...

, a Ukrainian activist and public figure in the Soviet Jewry Movement. *

Avital Ronell Avital Ronell ( ; born 15 April 1952) is an American academic who writes about continental philosophy, literary studies, psychoanalysis, political philosophy, and ethics. She is a professor in the humanities and in the departments of Germanic l ...

, an American professor. *

Avital Leibovich Avital Leibovich (Hebrew: אביטל ליבוביץ) is the Director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Israel. Education Leibovich graduated with a BA in English Literature and Political Science from Bar Ilan University in 1992, and recei ...

, director of the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...

(AJC) in Israel. *

Avital Abergel Avital Abergel ( he, אביטל אברג'יל; born June 10, 1977) is an Israeli film and TV actress. Abergel has appeared in such (Israeli) films as "Aaron Cohen's Debt" (Hebrew: ) and "Something Sweet" (Hebrew: ). Likewise, Abergel is also a s ...

, an Israeli actress.

As given name (male)

Avital Boruchovsky Avital Boruchovsky (16 May 1997) is an Israeli chess player. He was awarded the International Master title in 2012. In 2014, FIDE additionally awarded him the Grandmaster title, subject to achieving a 2500 Elo rating. His conditional qualificati ...

, an Israeli chess player. * Avital Inbar, an Israeli author. * Avital Selinger, an Israeli volleyball player. *

Avital Tamir Avital Tamir ( he, אביטל תמיר) is an Israeli musician best known for his work as the lead singer for successful metal band Betzefer and for his experimental pop trio On Shoulders of Giants. He was also briefly a member of fellow Betz ...

, an Israeli musician. Colette Avital, Ralf Fücks (cropped)

As surname

Mili Avital Mili Avital is an Israeli actress. She built an international career, starting in her native Israel, starring on stage, film and television. She won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1991, moved to New York in 1993 to stu ...

, an Israeli

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

, writer, and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

. *

Shay Avital Shay Avital Rapoport (; born in 1952) is a Aluf, Major General (Ret.) in the Israel Defense Forces, IDF and former head of the Special Operations Forces Command (Depth Corps). During his military career Avital was, among others, Commander of Saye ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

(Ret.) in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

and former head of the Special Operations Forces Command (

Depth Corps The Depth Corps ( he, מפקדת העומק, ''lit.'' Depth Headquarters) of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is a command formed in 2011 to coordinate the IDF's long range operations and operations deep in enemy territory. The command originally ...

). *

Omer Avital Omer Avital (born May 13, 1971, Givatayim, Israel) is an Israeli-American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader. Early life Avital was born in the town of Givatayim to Moroccan and Yemeni parents. At age 11, he began his formal training, s ...

, an Israeli-American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader. *

Avi Avital Avi Avital (Hebrew: אבי אביטל, born 19 October 1978) is an Israeli mandolinist. He is best known for his renditions of well-known Baroque and folk music, much of which was originally written for other instruments. He has been nominated fo ...

, an Israeli

mandolinist A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

. *

Tsion Avital Tsion Avital (born February 21, 1940) is an Israelis, Israeli philosopher of art and culture. Biography Tsion Avital was born to Avraham and Preciada Dorit Avitbol Avital, and grew up in the town of Sefrou in Morocco. Avital aliyah, immigrated ...

, an Israeli philosopher of art and culture. *

Eden Avital Eden Avital ( he, עדן אביטל; born 25 March 1997) is an Israeli footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for the Israeli football club Hapoel Petah Tikva and for the Israeli national team. She has previously played in Israel for th ...

, an Israeli footballer. *

Colette Avital Colette Avital ( he, קולט אביטל, born 1 May 1939) is a Romanian-Israeli diplomat and politician. She served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party and One Israel between 1999 and 2009. Biography Born in Bucharest, Romania, Avit ...

, a Romani-Israeli diplomat and politician. * Dr. Doron Avital, an Israeli politician. * Shmuel Avital, an Israeli politician.

References

{{reflist Given names Surnames Hebrew-language_given_names Hebrew_unisex_given_names Hebrew_feminine_given_names Hebrew_masculine_given_names 11th-century BC women 10th-century BC women Wives of David