A Hebrew name is a

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

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 ...

origin. In a more narrow meaning, it is a name used by Jews only in a religious context and different from an individual's secular name for everyday use. Names with Hebrew origins, especially those from the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

. Many are also used by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, particularly those names mentioned in the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

(for example, ''

Ibrahim Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people w ...

'' is a common Arabic name from the Hebrew ''

Avraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...

''). A typical Hebrew name can have many different forms, having been adapted to the phonologies and

orthographies An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and ...

of many different

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

s. A common Jewish practice worldwide is to give a Hebrew name to a child that is used in religious contexts throughout that person's lifetime. Not all Hebrew names are strictly Hebrew in origin; some names may have been borrowed from other ancient languages, including from Egyptian,

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...

, Phoenician, or Canaanite.

Names of Hebrew origin

Hebrew names used by Jews (along with many Hebrew names used in

Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwin ...

) often come from the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament). Many of these names are thought to have been adapted from Hebrew phrases and expressions, bestowing special meaning or the unique circumstances of birth to the one who receives that name.

Theophoric name A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that dei ...

s are those which include a form of a divine name, such by adding the suffix אל ''-el'', meaning "God", forming names such as מיכאל ''

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

'' ("who is like God?") and גבריאל ''

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

'' ("man of God"). Another common form of theophory is the use of the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

YHWH as the basis for a suffix; the most common abbreviations used by Jews are יה ''-yāh''/''-iyyāh'' and יהו ''-yāhû''/''-iyyāhû''/''-ayhû'', forming names such as ישׁעיהו '' Yəšaʻªyāhû'' (Isaiah), צדקיהו '' Ṣiḏqiyyāhû'' (Zedekiah) and שׂריה '' Śərāyāh'' (Seraiah). Most Christian usage is of the shorter suffix preferred in

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

s of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

to European languages: Greek -ιας ''-ias'' and English -iah, producing names such as Τωβιας '' Tōbias'' (Tobias, Toby) instead of ''Tobiyyahu'' and Ιερεμίας '' Ieremias'' (Jeremiah, Jeremy) instead of ''Yirmeyahu''. In addition to devotion to '' Elohim'' and ''

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he po ...

'', names could also be sentences of praise in their own right. The name טוביהו '' Ṭôḇiyyāhû'' means "Good of/is the LORD".

Names of Aramaic origin

Scholars of a century ago speculated that Judæo-Aramaic was the vernacular language of Israel at the time of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

. Archaeology is calling that into question. Aramaic does survive on a minority of first-century funeral inscriptions, and it was also the language used to write parts of the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...

, the

Book of Ezra The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible; which formerly included the Book of Nehemiah in a single book, commonly distinguished in scholarship as Ezra–Nehemiah. The two became separated with the first printed rabbinic bibles of the e ...

, and the entire Jewish Babylonian

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

. Aramaic remained the lingua franca of the Middle East until the time of Islam. Judæo-Aramaic names include עבד־נגו '' ʻĂḇēḏ-nəḡô'', בר־תלמי '' Bar-Talmay'' and תום '' Tôm'', as well as Bar Kochba.

Hebrew-Greek names

Due to the Hellenisation of the Eastern Mediterranean and the movement of Jews around the area, many Hebrew names were adapted to Greek, reinforced by the translation of the Tanakh in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

with many Hellenized names. Many of the names in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

are of Hebrew and Aramaic origin, but were adapted to the Greek by Hellenistic Christian writers such as

Paul of Tarsus Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. Such Hebræo-Greek names include Ἰησοῦς '' Iēsous'' (originally from ישׁוע ''Yēšûªʻ''), Νῶε '' Nōē'' (originally from נח ''Nōªḥ''), Ἰσαΐας ''

Isaias Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

'' (originally from ישׁעיהו ''Yəšaʻªyāhû''), Ἰσραήλ '' Israēl'' (originally from ישראל ''Yiśrā’ēl''). Furthermore, some Jews of the time had Greek

Gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...

names themselves, such as the Christian Luke (Greek Λουκᾶς ''Loukas''). Though used by some Jews at the time, these names are generally not associated with Jews today, and are considered characteristically Greek and largely confined to use by Christians. Hebrew forms of the names exist, but they are extremely rare.

Hebrew-Latin names

Many Hebrew names were adapted into Latin, some via Greek. Such names include Jesus (from Greek Ιησους ''Iēsous'') and Maria (from Greek Μαριαμ ''Mariam'', originally from Hebrew מרים '' Miryām''). Also, some Jews during

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

times also had Latin names for themselves, such as the Christian evangelist

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

(Latin Marcus). As was the case with contemporary Jewish names of Greek origin, most of those Latin names are generally not associated with Jews today and have retained a Roman and Christian character.

Hebrew-Arabic names

With the rise of Islam and the establishment of an Arab

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

, the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...

became the lingua franca of the Middle East and some parts of Berber

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. Islamic scripture such as the Qurʼan, however, contains many names of Hebrew origin (often via Aramaic), and there were Jewish and Christian minorities living under Arab Islamic rule. As such, many Hebrew names had been adapted to Arabic and could be found in the Arab world. Jews and Christians generally used the Arabic adaptions of those names, just as English-speaking Jews and sometimes Muslims often Noé use anglicized versions like Joshua, rather than Yəhôšúªʼ, While most such names are common to traditional Arabic translations of the Bible, a few differ; for instance, Arabic-speaking Christians use ''Yasūʻ'' instead of '' ʻĪsā'' for "

". Such Hebræo-Arabic names include: * ʼAyyūb أيّوب (from Hebrew איוב '' ʼIyyôḇ'') (Job) * Yūsuf يوسف (from Hebrew יוסף '' Yôsēp̄'') (Joseph) * Dāʼūd داۇد (from Hebrew דוד '' Dāwiḏ'') (David) * ʼIsmāʻīl اسماعيل (from Hebrew ישׁמעאל '' Yišmāʻêl'') (Ishmael) * ʼIsḥāq إسحاق (from Hebrew יצחק '' Yiṣḥāq'') (Isaac) * Yaʻqūb يعقوب (from Hebrew יעקב '' Yaʻªqōḇ'') (Jacob) * ʼĀdam آدم (from Hebrew אדם '' ʼĀḏām'') (Adam) * Ḥawwāʼ حواء (from Hebrew חוה '' Ḥawwāh'') (Eve) The influence of Aramaic is observable in several names, notably ʼIsḥāq (Isaac), where the Syriac form is simply ''Îsḥāq'', contrasting with more Hebraic forms such as Yaʻqūb (Jacob). Some of these Arabic names preserve original Hebrew pronunciations that were later changed by regular sound shifts; ''migdal'', recorded in the New Testament as ''Magdal''ene and in Palestinian Arabic as ''Majdala'', which turned ''a'' in unstressed closed syllables into ''i''. Typically, Hebrew אל ''-ʼēl'' was adapted as ـايل ''-īl'', and Hebrew יה ''-yāh'' as ـيا ''-yāʼ''.

Hebrew-English names

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

commissioned a

of the Christian Bible from the original languages, including a translation of the Tanakh, or Old Testament, from Hebrew into English, which became known as the King James Version of the Bible and is often referred to today by the abbreviation "KJV". Even so, many KJV Old Testament names were not entirely without New Testament Greek influence. The influence mostly reflected the vowels of names and left most of the consonants largely intact and only modestly filtered to consonants of contemporary English phonology. However, all KJV names followed the Greek convention of not distinguishing between soft and ''dāḡeš'' forms of ב ''bêṯ''. The habits resulted in multilingually-fused Hebrew-Helleno-English names, such as Judah,

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

and

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning "Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewis ...

. Additionally, a handful of names were adapted directly from Greek without even partial translations from Hebrew, including names such as

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was ...

, Moses and Jesse. Along with names from the KJV edition of the New Testament, these names constitute the large part of Hebrew names as they exist in the English-speaking world.

Jewish usage

A Hebrew name is used in a religious context during prayer. When deceased relatives are remembered during the Yizkor memorial service or during the El-Malei Blessing, the Hebrew name of the deceased is used along with the Hebrew name of the father. When the ''Misheberach'' (prayer for the sick) is recited, the ill person's Hebrew name is said along with the Hebrew name of the mother. When an adult Jew is called to receive an

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

to the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, they are identified with their Hebrew personal name along with their father's Hebrew name; for example, ''Ya'akov ben Chaim''. (In some communities, especially those who allow women the honour of receiving an aliyah, the practice is to include both parents' names in the context of an aliyah; for example, ''Elisheva bat Moshe v'Sarah''.) While, strictly speaking, a "Hebrew name" for ritual use is in the Hebrew language, it is not uncommon in some Ashkenazi communities for people to have names of Yiddish origin, or a mixed Hebrew-Yiddish name; for example, the name ''Simhah Bunim'', where ''simhah'' means "happiness" in Hebrew, and ''Bunim'' is a Yiddish-language name possibly derived from the French ''bon nom'' ("good name"). Converts to Judaism may choose whatever Hebrew name they like as a personal name. However, the parental names in their case are not the names of their actual parents, but rather ''

v' Sarah'', who are (as the first matriarch and patriarch of Jewish tradition) the prototypical "parents" in Judaism.

References

External links

* Appendix:Hebrew given names at Wiktionary *
Most Popular American Women’s Names In Hebrew (Phonetic Transliteration)

Customs relating to the naming of a child
from the Chabad group of Hassidic Judaism * – article on old testament naming from a Catholic perspective
List of over 2500 Hebrew names used in Israel with pronunciation

List of all first names used in Israel with pronunciation and statistics in Hebrew

List of all Hebrew first names used in Israel, all Hebrew Names For Boys & Girls ( 2016 Update )

Names from Hebrew to Turkish
{{Names in world cultures Names by culture Jewish life cycle