Hebrew Names for Girls

Simone, the elegant French feminization of Simon, strikes that all-important balance between unusual and familiar, and it's oozing with Gallic sophistication. A dated choice in its native France, gymnast Simone Biles brings new bounce and spark to name. 
 
Meaning "to listen, to hear, to hearken", it is a sophisticated choice, though depending on where you are, the pronunciation may vary. English speakers may say it with a long O sound in the second syllable, whereas in French, it is more like the sound in "bought". In Dutch and German, however, it is pronounced with three syllables. 
 Two French philosophers are notable bearers of the name: feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir, author of the influential The Second Sex, and Simone Weil. There are also two notable young athletes with the name: the aforementioned Simone Biles, who set a US record high of four medals in a single Olympics, and Simone Manuel, who became the first African-American female swimmer to bring home a gold.
 The actress who played the lead in the iconic French horror movie Cat People is Simone Simon, while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has a daughter named Simone; Chris Rock used it in the middle place for his daughter, as did Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates

Simone

A charming multicultural choice with a daring yet grounded sound, Adara is a both a Hebrew name with a noble meaning, and an Arabic name with ties to astronomy. Popular in Puerto Rico and Spain, it is also on the rise in the US.
 
Also spelled as Adhara, it is the name of the second brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, making it a possible choice for anyone who wants a space-related choice or to honor someone with a love of astronomy. From its Arabic roots, it also means "maidens", making it a possible idea for a Virgo baby too. 
 
With possible nicknames Addie, Dara, Ari, and Ada possible and the Adhara form already in the Top 1000, Adara may be one to watch out for in coming years.

Adara

Nonbiblical Hebrew name used as an affectionate nickname since the Middle Ages. 

Malka

A soft and interesting Hebrew name long popular in France, where it has ranked in the Top 400 since 1986 (as Salomé). Ex-ER star Alex Kingston named her daughter Salome Violetta.

Despite seeing small but steady use during the latter part of the 19th century, Salome has never really caught on in the US – no doubt due to the historical association with the Biblical dancer who asked for John the Baptist's head on a platter. In fact, the dancer is not mentioned by name in the Bible, but the name Salome was attached to this figure by the 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian Josephus. There is, however, another Salome who is specifically mentioned in the Bible: a female follower of Jesus, wife of Zebedee and mother of the disciples James and John.

 Oscar Wilde wrote a play called Salome in 1893 and Richard Strauss based an opera on it twelve years later. In pop culture, the name was given to a seductive vampire character in the HBO series True Blood.

 Salome has been quietly rising since the turn of the 21st century, and entered the US Top 1000 in 2024, as parents seek fresh biblical names and peaceful meanings.

Salome

Jubilee has a joyous and jubilant aura, but it wouldn't be an easy name to carry, what with all that pressure to be a living, breathing, 24-7 party. Jubilee was the name selected by television's Duggars for their miscarried child.

Jubilee

Sapphire goes waaaaay beyond Ruby and Pearl. This September birthstone, occasionally used a century ago, might be worth a reappraisal, perhaps as a Sophie/Sophia alternative. Sapphire is the pseudonym of Romona Lofton, who wrote the book Push, which was turned into the movie Precious. Sapphire entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022, and is proving to be one of the freshest gem names for girls. Another intriguing variation is the lovely Sapphira.

Sapphire

Dania is a fun, offbeat name with international flair that would be a wonderful choice to honor a Danielle, Daniel, or a Dana. It is both an Italian diminutive of Daniela and a spelling variation of the Arabic Daniya.
 
While Dania has cracked the US Top 1000 nine times between 1996 and 2024, its presence there is usually only brief. Given to around 220 girls in a recent year, it is a familiar yet rare choice.

Dania

Ann, the name of the sainted mother of the Virgin Mary, was among the top <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ names</a> for centuries, in both the original English Ann spelling and the French Anne. Both left the Top 100 around 1970 and show no signs of returning, with Anne is the middle of the US Top 1000 and Ann dropped out of sight. 

Once a go-to middle name, Ann has lost its stature in that position as well. Still, it's one of the most <a href="/list/653/100-most-common-names-for-girls">common names for girls</a> of the 20th century.
 Some more popular related names today include Hannah, Anna, and Annabelle.

Truly multi-cultural, Ira can be: a Russian short form of Irina, meaning "peace"; a gender-switch of the Hebrew male name Ira, meaning "watchful"; a modern Greek and Finnish form of Hera, meaning "hero" or "protectress"; a Sanskrit name meaning "earth" or "enjoyment"; and a Basque nature name meaning "fern", from the word iratzea.
 Annette Bening and Warren Beatty broke the ice by using this Old Testament male standard as the middle name of their daughter Isabel, and food writer Molly Yeh named her second daughter Ira Dorothy in 2022, sister to Bernadette "Bernie".

Although Susan had her heyday from the thirties to the sixties, and is now common among moms and new grandmas, and though most modern parents would prefer Susanna/Susannah, we have spotted some flickers of interest in a revival. It still retains a certain black-eyed-Susan freshness.
 
Susan has a substantial literary resume, including appearances in George Eliot's Mill on the Floss, Anthony Trollope's Barchester Towers, Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge and Jude the Obscure, and Charlotte Bronte's Shirley.
 
Susan's many nicknames include Sue, Susie, Suzy, Sukie, and Zuzu—many of which have been celebrated in song. Among Susan's notable namesakes are activist Susan B. Anthony, writer Sontag, and actress Sarandon.

Susan

Where Abraham took his son Isaac to sacrifice him. Taylor Hanson chose this as the middle name for his son Viggo, his fourth child, but most will see it as a <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ name</a>. Make life simpler and spell it Mariah.

Moriah

Combine the popularity of Betty White and Mad Men's glamorous Betty Draper Francis, with the residual sweetness of Ugly Betty's Betty Suarez, and the result is an impending return of the name. It's got presidential cred via Betty Ford and feminist history through Betty Friedan.
 
Betty's image is still very World War II, when Betty Grable was a hot pin-up girl and Betty was the all-American girls' name blanketing the country, second only to Mary from 1928 to 1934. 
So yes, Betty has been out for so long now that we are starting to imagine a new generation of adorable baby Bettys. We may be on the precipice of a Betty wave, thanks to Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, who recently chose it for their third daughter.
 
Bette Davis pronounced her name 'Betty,' while Bette Midler is 'Bet.'

Betty

Though Dara was an (extremely wise) male figure in the Bible, this name feels mostly feminine to modern Americans. The Irish Gaelic version, Darragh, is well-used in contemporary times for boys.
 While Dara dropped out of the Top 1000 a couple of decades ago, it's one of those magic names that feels neither fashionable nor unfashionable. This timeless quality can be an advantage for a child over time. And Dara has the cross-cultural thing going for it as well. It's also a Slavic name, meaning "gift".
 The cousin-name Daria was featured a few seasons ago as the smart and cynical star of her own eponymous animated MTV show.

Dara

The name of nine minor male biblical characters, this could easily make a gender switch as a singular substitution for the popular Mariah.  It has also spawned the popular gender-neutral name Amaris, used for 300 baby girls and 100 baby boys last year, along with spelling variation Amarys.

Amariah

Susanna is an old and under-appreciated name, perhaps because of the recent overpopularity of Susan, that is certainly due for a comeback. 
 
The Susannah spelling is just as appropriate as Susanna. The two versions seem to have traded places over time as the dominant version. Neither spelling is in the Top 1000 at the moment, though we expect that will change over the next few years as more modern parents rediscover these beautiful Biblical names.
 
How is Susanna different from Susannah? The h-less version feels a bit more streamlined and modern, and might refer more directly to an ancestor named Ann or Anna. Susannah seems more old-school Biblical and more self-contained, while Susanna resembles a smoosh name: Sue + Anna. But Susanna and Susannah are pronounced the same and are equally beautiful.
 
A European short form of Susanna that's become popular: Sanna or Sanne.

Susanna

A variant spelling of either Irish Shea or Hebrew Shai, Shay feels at once vintage and modern.

Shay

Name of an Old Testament soldier that's been also used as a girls' name in modern Israel. An alternate spelling is Adinah. Some mistake Adina and Adinah to be the root of Dinah, but the Biblical name Dinah is borne by a different figure and has a different meaning. You can consider the modern short forms Dena and Dina as stemming from either Adina or Dinah.

Adina

Nickname for the star Gamma Cassiopeiae given by the late astronaut Gus Grissom after his own middle name (Ivan) spelled backwards. Navi also relates to the prophets in the Hebrew Bible. 
 
The name gained additional visibility from its use in popular media. It is the name of a character in the video game "The Legend of Zelda" -- short for Navigator. In the animated film Avatar, where Na'vi refers to the indigenous people of Pandora. The name is also associated with American actress, Navi Rawat, where Navi is short for Navlata.
 
It could also be a modern re-spelling of the name Navy which is gaining in popularity, both for the color and the U.S. armed service.

Navi

This Old Testament place name was in the Top 10 fifty years ago, but now Sharon, along with sound-alike Karen, have fallen out of favor. 

Sharon

Some might think a girl named Liz on her birth certificate would feel deprived of her full identity, but in a time when mini names like Liv, Kit, Tru, Kai, Lou, and Bea are in style, Liz feels substantial enough that its bearer won't feel bereft.
 
A solid, succinct nickname, it was famously borne by actress Elizabeth Taylor, while plenty of others have used it professionally, even if they were born Elizabeth. A few noteworthy Liz's include actress and disability rights activist Liz Carr, politician Liz Truss, presenter Liz Bonnin, and actress Liz Fraser.
 
Liz ranks as a stand-alone choice in the Netherlands, pronounced LEEZ.

Hebrew girl names include some of the most popular female names of all time in the US, such as Hannah, Elizabeth and Rachel. Hebrew girls’ names, indeed, are so familiar and deeply rooted in English-speaking cultures that they're among the classic girl names that have been most widely used over time.

 in the US top 100 include Abigail, Anna, Eliana, Eva, Leah, Maya, Naomi, and Sarah. 

 include Tamar — especially among Jewish Israelis — Noa, Shira, and Talia.

 that are more unusual yet worthy of consideration include Biblical names Dinah, Kelilah, and Susannah. And then there are 

 such as the unisex place-name Zion and the literary nickname-name Zadie, derived from Sarah.

Browse our full list of Hebrew baby girl names here, ordered according to their current popularity on Nameberry. 

Hebrew names for girls with meanings and popularity, including classic names such as Sarah and Elizabeth, Old Testament girl names, and top names in Israel.. (Page 6)

Hebrew Girl Names