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Help[Opinions] Most Popular Hebrew Names in Israel
I know that there are some Hebrew name enthusiasts on this site, so I thought I'd post the most popular Hebrew baby names in Israel (courtesy of Maariv, an Israeli newspaper):
GIRLS
Noah
Shira
Maya
Yael
Tamar
Sarah
Roni
Agam - Anyone know what this means?
Michal
Adi
Talia
Maayan
Hila
BOYS
Itai
Uri
Noam
Daniel
David
Edo (ee-doh)
Moshe
Yosef
Yohonatan
Yonatan
Amit
Ariel
Yoval - Possibly a different spelling of Yuval
GIRLS
Noah
Shira
Maya
Yael
Tamar
Sarah
Roni
Agam - Anyone know what this means?
Michal
Adi
Talia
Maayan
Hila
BOYS
Itai
Uri
Noam
Daniel
David
Edo (ee-doh)
Moshe
Yosef
Yohonatan
Yonatan
Amit
Ariel
Yoval - Possibly a different spelling of Yuval
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Replies
Agam means lake in Hebrew (opinions in message)
How'd you get the top dozen? I only found the top five!
GIRLS
Noah- Noa - you won't find anyone who spells it Noah. It's my name. Top name for a few years - around 3% of the girls born named it. UGH. I like my name, I really do; it just needs a long, long rest.
Shira- I like it. It's pretty, and I think I prefer it to Shir.
Maya- I like it. (I can't really say anything bad about it - it's the name of one of my best friends.)
Yael- Pretty, classic, but ultimately meh.
Tamar- I would have really, really loved it if it weren't so popular.
Sarah- I think it's a lot nicer in English.
Roni- Love it too.
Agam- How on Earth did this get on the top 10? I know there's some actress named Agam, but not that she's so popular (and I bet it's because of her).
Michal- See Yael.
Adi- I don't like it.
Talia- Nice but too frilly.
Maayan- I like it on a boy.
Hila- Is the name of a girl my sister doesn't like. And my best friend till first grade - but I can't decide if I like it or not.
BOYS
Itai- Meh.
Uri- It's for both Ori and Uri, as they're spelled the same. I like Uri better, but I don't like either of them much.
Noam- I love. But it's my good friend's name, so I would never use it. But I hate it on a girl.
Daniel- Meh. Boring. (Which could be said of all of these - after all, it's a popularity list.)
David- dah-veed. Emphasise syllable of your pick. I don't mind it.
How'd you get the top dozen? I only found the top five!
GIRLS
Noah- Noa - you won't find anyone who spells it Noah. It's my name. Top name for a few years - around 3% of the girls born named it. UGH. I like my name, I really do; it just needs a long, long rest.
Shira- I like it. It's pretty, and I think I prefer it to Shir.
Maya- I like it. (I can't really say anything bad about it - it's the name of one of my best friends.)
Yael- Pretty, classic, but ultimately meh.
Tamar- I would have really, really loved it if it weren't so popular.
Sarah- I think it's a lot nicer in English.
Roni- Love it too.
Agam- How on Earth did this get on the top 10? I know there's some actress named Agam, but not that she's so popular (and I bet it's because of her).
Michal- See Yael.
Adi- I don't like it.
Talia- Nice but too frilly.
Maayan- I like it on a boy.
Hila- Is the name of a girl my sister doesn't like. And my best friend till first grade - but I can't decide if I like it or not.
BOYS
Itai- Meh.
Uri- It's for both Ori and Uri, as they're spelled the same. I like Uri better, but I don't like either of them much.
Noam- I love. But it's my good friend's name, so I would never use it. But I hate it on a girl.
Daniel- Meh. Boring. (Which could be said of all of these - after all, it's a popularity list.)
David- dah-veed. Emphasise syllable of your pick. I don't mind it.
This message was edited 11/21/2007, 2:16 PM
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I found the list on a website called israelity.com. It's run by individuals who compile and comment on news about Israel. One of them may have selected the spellings, because I think Maariv is published only in Hebrew.
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The ones I prefer are:
Noa (prefer this spelling for a girl)
Maya
Michal
Adi
Talia
Maayan
BOYS
David
Yonatan
Amit
Ariel
It would be interesting to know something about the social distribution of the names. From talks with Israeli friends, I have the impression that secular Israeli are somewhat reluctant to give their kids traditional Jewish names like Sarah and Moshe, because they are considered boring or dated.
Noa (prefer this spelling for a girl)
Maya
Michal
Adi
Talia
Maayan
BOYS
David
Yonatan
Amit
Ariel
It would be interesting to know something about the social distribution of the names. From talks with Israeli friends, I have the impression that secular Israeli are somewhat reluctant to give their kids traditional Jewish names like Sarah and Moshe, because they are considered boring or dated.
This message was edited 11/21/2007, 12:39 PM
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Isn't it Noa (for girl) and Ido (for boy)? and Yehonatan?
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Agam is a name that has only recently slipped into usage as a name. It's the Hebrew word for 'lake'.
I'm surprised to see Noah being used for a girl. In the Torah, it's used as both a masculine and feminine name, but I've only ever seen Noa used for girls. Interesting.
I love that Yael is on the list, despite it meaning 'mountain goat', lol.
I'm not surprised, however, to find Sarah on the list. Tamar is not too much of a shocker, but more of a shock to find it on the list and not finding Rachel, Rivka, Leah or Miriam (even though Miriam isn't as widespread as it once was).
I don't really like Shira, but I love Shiri.
Of the boys names, Noam, David, Yosef, Yohonatan, Yonatan, Ariel and Moshe aren't big shockers at all, and really kind of typical.
All in all, the female list really surprised me, but the male list was what I would expect to see.
I'm surprised to see Noah being used for a girl. In the Torah, it's used as both a masculine and feminine name, but I've only ever seen Noa used for girls. Interesting.
I love that Yael is on the list, despite it meaning 'mountain goat', lol.
I'm not surprised, however, to find Sarah on the list. Tamar is not too much of a shocker, but more of a shock to find it on the list and not finding Rachel, Rivka, Leah or Miriam (even though Miriam isn't as widespread as it once was).
I don't really like Shira, but I love Shiri.
Of the boys names, Noam, David, Yosef, Yohonatan, Yonatan, Ariel and Moshe aren't big shockers at all, and really kind of typical.
All in all, the female list really surprised me, but the male list was what I would expect to see.
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I think Noah is Noa. The website may have spelled Noa as Noah because that's the English spelling (both masculine and feminine).
I was surprised to see Sara / Sarah and Moshe on the list. I read about Israel a lot, and I never see young people with those names. I thought Israelis avoided those names because they were too "old". I think that's why Miriam, Leah, Rivka, and Rachel didn't make the list.
I had never heard Yohonatan before, so I thought that was interesting. I assume it's a form of Yonatan.
I was surprised to see Sara / Sarah and Moshe on the list. I read about Israel a lot, and I never see young people with those names. I thought Israelis avoided those names because they were too "old". I think that's why Miriam, Leah, Rivka, and Rachel didn't make the list.
I had never heard Yohonatan before, so I thought that was interesting. I assume it's a form of Yonatan.
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My thoughts:
I love:
Noah
Shira - I'm kinda surprised this name hasn't caught on in the US.
Yael
Tamar - One of my favorite names.
Michal - Ditto.
Adi
Talia
Maayan - This is simply gorgeous.
Noam - One of my Top 10 favorite boy's names. I greatly prefer it to Noah.
Daniel - A very sweet name for a boy.
Yonatan
Ariel - I think it's nice to see this on a boy.
Yoval / Yuval
I don't like:
Maya - Pretty enough name, but it's way too trendy.
Sarah - Another overkill name.
Roni
Uri
David - A dull name.
Moshe - Feels too old-mannish.
Yohonatan - A bit too compliated. I like the simply Yonatan.
I love:
Noah
Shira - I'm kinda surprised this name hasn't caught on in the US.
Yael
Tamar - One of my favorite names.
Michal - Ditto.
Adi
Talia
Maayan - This is simply gorgeous.
Noam - One of my Top 10 favorite boy's names. I greatly prefer it to Noah.
Daniel - A very sweet name for a boy.
Yonatan
Ariel - I think it's nice to see this on a boy.
Yoval / Yuval
I don't like:
Maya - Pretty enough name, but it's way too trendy.
Sarah - Another overkill name.
Roni
Uri
David - A dull name.
Moshe - Feels too old-mannish.
Yohonatan - A bit too compliated. I like the simply Yonatan.
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