24 Baby Names Inspired by Israel

Here are 24 baby names inspired by the people, places, and history of the Land of Israel.

Amital

A modern boy’s name in Israel, Amital means “my nation is dew” in Hebrew and expresses the hope and pride of the Jewish people.  This name can be shortened to the nickname Ami, meaning “my people.”

Ariel / Ariella

At the end of his life, the Biblical patriarch Jacob blessed his descendants, who would each go on to found the 12 ancient tribes of Israel.  “A lion cub is Judah,” Jacob proclaimed (Genesis 49:9), marking the lion as the symbol of the tribe of Judah, which would later give us the modern name “Jew.”  The lion is also the modern-day symbol of Israel’s capital city Jerusalem, which lies within the tribe of Judah’s territory.

There are a few ways to say lion in Hebrew: Aryeh means lion; it can also be shortened to Ari.  Ariel is a boy’s name meaning “Lion of God.”  Ariella is a feminine version of this beautiful name.

Asher

This beautiful boy’s name also derives from one of Jacob’s descendants and a founder of one of the 12 tribes of Israel.  It means happy one: when Asher was born, Leah declared “in my good fortune!” and named him to reflect her joy.  The tribe of Asher dwelt in the area comprising today’s scenic northwest of Israel.

Aviva

This popular Hebrew girl’s name means Spring.  It echoes the name of Tel Aviv (literally, “Spring Hill”), Israel’s coastal metropolis which was founded by Jewish pioneers upon the sandy bluffs north of the city of Jaffa in 1909.

Benjamin

The ancient Jewish tribe of Benjamin settled in the scenic rolling hills north of Jerusalem. Today, Benjamin is the name of this picturesque Israeli region, which is home to wineries, forests, and nature preserves.

Carmel

This beautiful name comes from the Hebrew word for vineyard, “kerem,” and evokes Israel’s magnificent Mount Carmel in the north of the country, near Haifa.  In Biblical times, Mount Carmel was the site where the prophet Elijah denounced false prophets (I Kings 18:20).

David

One of the most popular boy names in Israel, David recalls the name of King David, who first made Jerusalem the capital of Israel 3,000 years ago.  A feminine version of this name is Davida.

Ezra

This popular boy’s name means “help” in Hebrew and evokes the ancient Jewish leader Ezra, who led Jews back to the Land of Israel from exile in Babylonia.  Known as Ezra the Scribe, Ezra transformed Jewish life, stirring excitement among Babylonia’s Jews to return to their own Jewish country and build up Jewish life there once more.

Golda

Golda Meir was the fourth Prime Minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974.  Her name means “gold” in Yiddish.

Hadar

Hadar means “splendor” in Hebrew and is the name of a picturesque neighborhood high up on a hill in Haifa.  This name can be used for both girls and boys.

Hadassah

Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital is one of the world’s leading medical establishments, situated on two campuses in Israel’s capital city.  It was founded in 1921 by American women who belonged to the Zionist organization Hadassah, named after Queen Esther’s Jewish name.  The literal meaning of Hadassah is “myrtle,” a fragrant plant that grows in the Land of Israel.  Hadassah is a popular girls’ name in Israel.

Israel

The name Israel literally means “struggles with God.”  It was bestowed on the Biblical patriarch Jacob by God (Genesis 32:29).  A feminine version of this name is Yisraela.

Jordan / Jordana

The Jordan River flows from the hilly north of Israel southward, to the Dead Sea.  Called “Yarden” in Hebrew, it means to flow down.  A feminine form of this name is Yardena in Hebrew or Jordana in an anglicized form.

Judah / Yehuda / Yehudit

When the Biblical matriarch Leah gave birth to Judah, she declared “let me gratefully praise God” and named her baby Judah, meaning thanks (Genesis 29:35).  Judah became a founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.  His territory included the city of Jerusalem, which was the Jewish capital in both ancient times and today.  The name Judah gave rise to the name “Jew”.

Judah in Hebrew is pronounced “Yehudah.”  A feminine version is “Yehudit.”  Yehudit also recalls a heroine of the Chanukah story: Yehudit was a Jewish woman who killed the head of the tyrannical Greek general Holofernes.

Kinneret

Kinneret is a beautiful girl’s name.  This is the Hebrew name for the Sea of Galilee, a stunning freshwater lake in the north of Israel.  Its name derives from the Hebrew word for harp, “kinar,” whose shape is said to resemble the outline of the lake.

Nechemia

Along with Ezra (see above), Nechemia was a leader of Israel during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.  Nechemia encouraged Jews to rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem, transforming a ragtag group of Jewish returnees into a disciplined community that rebuilt Jerusalem. Nechemia literally means “God comforts.”

A feminine version of this lovely name is Nechama, meaning “comfort.”

Sharon

“Sharon” means fertile plane in Hebrew.  The Sharon Plane encompasses some of Israel’s most picturesque scenery; it extends northward from Tel Aviv to Mount Carmel, about 50 miles away.

Shlomo

The Hebrew form of the name Solomon, this popular moniker recalls King Solomon, who built the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.  The name Shlomo means “peace.”

Tamar

This popular Hebrew girl’s name means date.  It’s also the name of an ancient city established by King Solomon near the Dead Sea (Kings 1 9:18), which is being excavated today.

Tiferet

This magnificent girls’ name means “glory” in Hebrew.  It’s often combined with the word Israel: “Tiferet Israel” (literally, the “glory of Israel”) is the name of a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Old City that is presently being rebuilt, and of a major 19th century book about Jewish law.  In the Bible, the word tiferet is used to describe the magnificent garments worn by workers in the ancient Jewish Temple.

Tikvah

“Tikvah” means hope in Hebrew and is used as a girl’s name.  It recalls the title of Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah, or “The Hope.”  Israel’s anthem is all about hope: “Our hope is not yet lost / The two thousand year old hope / To be a free people in our Land / The land of Zion and Jerusalem.”

Tzion/ Tziona

Tziona is a popular Hebrew girl’s name: it’s a feminine version of the word Zion (Tzion in Hebrew) which literally means “marker” or “landmark”.  In the Bible, Zion refers to Jerusalem and is mentioned over 150 times.  In modern times, Zion has come to refer to all of the Land of Israel.

Yehoshuah (Joshua)

After the Jewish exodus from Egypt, it was Yehoshua (Joshua), Moses’ successor, who led the Jewish people into the Land of Israel.  Yehoshua urged the Jewish people to have courage and keep God’s commandments, and led a series of military conquests.  The literal meaning of this popular boys’ name is “God saves.”

Zevulun

A son of Jacob who established one of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel, Zevulun’s territory lay in present day northern Israel, filled with rolling hills, streams, and forests.  Zevulun literally means “dwelling” or “habitation.”

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