Hebrew names

[nicole_1024]

Hi Berries!

I'm Jewish, and I've been thinking recently about naming my future children with Hebrew names. I've compiled a list of some I've come across. Any you like? Others you know? I'm afraid my boys' list is quite short. Also, do you prefer girls' names that end in -a with or without that final -h?

Girls

Atara(h)
Aviva
Malka
Yael
Avigail
Merav
Eden
Keturah
Leah
Hadassah
Noa
Talia
Vered
Tirtza
Bar
Amitai
Eliora
Raziela
Erela(h)
Nava
Hadara
Meital
Talor
Ayelet
Livna
Rivka
Zipporah
Elisheva
Devora(h)
Liat
Adara
Tavi
Davida
Elisheva
Doveva
Eila
Tovah
Ivria

Boys

Noam
Zev
Savyon
Lev
Oren
Ronen
Raanan
Simcha
Uzziel
Yarden
Itai
Dovev
Eilam
Gidon

Curious to hear your responses!
-Nicole

[vivimay]

So many good ones here. I like:

Atarah (though it's close to Atari)
Aviva
Malka
Yael
Noa
Talia
Nava
Rivka
Adara
Tavi
Tovah

I also love the name Raya. One of my friends used this for her daughter, and I think it's beautiful.

Noam and Lev are my faves from your boy's list.

[dantea]

With names that end in A, I don't care either way if there's an H at the end unless it's a name (like Hannah for example) that i almost always see with the H, in which case the name looks incomplete without it.

Here's the ones I like form your list:

Girls

Aviva
Eden
Keturah
Leah
Talia
Eliora
Rivka
Zipporah
Adara
Doveva
Tovah
Ivria

Boys

Zev
Oren
Ronen

[ashthedreamer]

I love Aviva, Ayelet, Adara, Noam, Lev, and Zev! Ayelet and Noam are actually my favorite Hebrew names... there's just something about them. As for the "H"s, I'm not sure. The "H"s make them feel more authentic to me, for some reason, but Atara looks cleaner-cut than Atarah does. So I'm torn.

I absolutely love Livana, too, which is Hebrew, and I came across Eliava and Chava which are also Hebrew, I believe. I really like Shimon/Simon, too, but I've heard others (non-Jewish) who say Shimon has too much teasing potential... but I still really like it. I really love the idea of Boaz nn Bo, too, and I always loved the story of Boaz and Ruth.

My favorite Biblical/Hebrew name is Caleb... I've seen several spellings for the original Hebrew name, but I believe @miloowen's son's Hebrew name is Kalev, so I'm guessing she would know for sure? I think Kalev is really appealing, too.

A few other ideas (not sure if they're the traditional Hebrew names or more Anglicized in modern translations of the Bible--since I come from a Christian standpoint, I can't say for sure, sorry):

Efraim/Ephraim
Dov (have you ever seen the TV show Rookie Blue? There's a hilarious Dov on the show, and on one of the first episodes, one of the girls is like, "Your name is Dove? Isn't that kind of wimpy for a copper?" And Dov's like, "It means "bear". It's a very, very manly Hebrew name!" That always stuck with me, haha, and I always liked it. Maybe because of the show, maybe not. I think it'd be a cool MN as a nod to your heritage, though!)
Ezra
Gavriel/Gabriel
Idan
Isaac/Yitzhak
Yosef/Joseph
Yonah
Josiah
Lior
Ari/Ariel
Noach/Noah
Ori
Raphael
Raviv
Reuben/Reuven
Samuel/Shmuel
Yaacov/Ya'akov/Yakov (I've seen it spelled several ways... but I've always had a huge crush on the Hebrew form of Jacob! I love it.)

girls:
Adina
Ariela/Ariella
Dinah
Dafna (I'm guessing this is a Hebrew form of Daphne? It's listed meaning was "laurel", just like Daphne's is. I found it on a website that listed it as a modern Hebrew name...)
Elisheva
Eliana
Hannah
Miriam
Maya
Noa
Rachel
Sarai
Shoshana
Tzipora (I think the more Anglicized Zipporah is pretty, too)

And there's the well-known Ziva, thanks to NCIS, too. I love her sister's name (Talia, nn Tali), and her half-brother's, Ari--much more than Ziva itself, which feels a bit overglorified to me. It is a nice name, though.

Good luck!

[ashthedreamer]

I like Adah, too, which I think might be Hebrew? I couldn't say for sure, though.

[lucystone]

My favorites:

Girls:
Yael - there was another Berry who posted about this a while back. Very pretty!
Avigail - Love this version of Abigail
Leah
Noa
Talia -
Tirtzah - Is this pronounced "Teer-tzah", or "Tirt-zah" (rhymes with dirt)? Like it with the long "i", not so much with the short.
Eliora
Raziela - gorgeous!
Nava
Livna
Rivka - Read this in a book long ago, and have always loved it.
Zipporah
Liat - never heard this one. It's lovely.
Adara
Tavi
Davida
Eila
Tovah - love it with the "h"!
Ivria

Boys

Zev
Savyon
Lev
Oren
Ronen
Dovev
Eilam - this one is just really interesting. Love the way the vowels sound together.
Gidon

Other boys' suggestions:
Abi/Avi - love this one! Simple, but so great for a boy!
Sivan
Aviram
Ari
Shai/Shay
Brosh
Shuah/Shu'a
Biran
Eliab
Eilon
Idan
Jehiel
Maor
Nadiv
Abiel/Aviel/Avi'el
Nahum/Nachum
Elichai
Ori
Avidan
Rami/Rani
Sason
Etham
Moshe
Pesach
Yahel
Gera/Gerai
Tzafrir
Rafi/Rafe/Raffi/Raphi