Hebrew Names for Girls

The Hebrew, Biblical form of Eve. While English speakers will likely find the forms Ava or Eve easier in everyday life, Chava is a lovely variation for a family that speaks Hebrew or Yiddish - plus, English speakers could always learn. 

Chava

Eila is a Hebrew name heard in Israel. The name also has roots in Finland and Norway, where it's derived from Elina, a variation of Helen, or from Aila, a form of Helga. Eila could gain attention as a cross-cultural name and fresh alternative to popular sound-alike choices like Ayla, Ella, and Isla.

Eila

Amaria is one of those rare names that sounds like a familiar and well-known choice. Part of this is done to its similarity to the likes of Amara, Amelia, Maria, and Aria, but another factor is it its multicultural roots. 
 
As an English name, it could be considered an elaboration of the Igbo Amara, meaning "grace" or an elaboration of classic Maria, meaning "bitter, beloved or drop of the sea". As an Arabic name, it could come from Ammar, meaning "to live long and thrive" or possible Amira, meaning "princess, ruler". 
 
From it's Hebrew origins, it could be a form of the masculine name Amariah, now considered unisex in the US. In this case, it would mean "Yahweh has said". There's also the possibility that it comes from the Greek Amaryllis or Maira, with the glittery meaning "to sparkle".
 
Other sources suggest it comes from the Sanskrit and Hindi Amariya, meaning "eternal" or from the Spanish and Portuguese name Amaro, meaning "bitter".
 
Given to around 110 girls in a recent year, it is currently outside the US Top 1000.

Amaria

Adding a final a to Tamar lends it a more sensual Slavic tone, making it a more popular choice than the original. 

Tamara

Adah is a biblical name twice over—one was the mother of Jabal and Jubal, the other was a wife of Esau. The latter Adah and Esau’s descendants settled in Edom and became the Edomites. Adah is unrelated to the visually similar name Ada, which is Germanic in origin.
 
Pronounced AH-dah, this unusual biblical name—the first female name in Genesis after Eve and given to a number of women in the Old Testament—is a softer Ada equivalent.

Adah

The Elissa version of a long-popular name is fading in favor of Alyssa, Eliza and other variants. The legion of other forms and spellings includes Alissa, Allissa, Allyssa, Alyssa, Elissah, Ellisa, Ellissa, Ellyssa, Elys, Elyssa, Elyssia, Ilissa, Ilysa, Ilyssa, Lissa, Lissie, Lissy Lyssa. 

Elissa

Haya

Avia is one of those multi-cultural, vowel-heavy girls' names so popular today, along with such choices as Ayla and Aya.

Avia

Elisheva was the original name of Aaron's wife in the Book of Exodus; Elisheva gains strength and distinction via the v sound. 

Elisheva

A Biblical place name and a <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">unisex choice</a> that has been on the rise in the US in recent years. With its bright sound and cool, zippy Z beginning, it blends religious significance and trendiness.
 
Popularized by singer Lauryn Hill back in the 90s and by other celebrities since, Zion is an alternate name for Jerusalem and is used as a nationalistic pro-Israel movement known as Zionism. As such, it might be considered a controversial choice, depending on your beliefs.
 
Zion appeared in the US Top 1000 for girls back in the 2010s, though it has been trending downwards since 2017. Until 2023, it was still on the rise for boys, but in 2024, it saw a downwards dip across the board. Given to 20% less babies than the previous year, conflicts in 2024 may have swayed parents away from the name, though it has yet to be seen in this is a permanent or widespread shift.

Zion

Jude may be a popular boys' name, thanks to Jude Law, but boyish nicknames for girls - like Frankie and Teddy - are on trend and Jude is also a new way to spin Judy or Judith. It's long been used quietly for girls as well as boys, and may start to pick up steam, though as of 2024, it was given to just shy of 90 girls in the US compared to over 2000 boys.
 
Jude may also be considered an Arabic name and a spelling variant of Jud or Joud, both variants of Jawad, meaning "to be generous". In this case, it is considered a unisex choice. 
 
Alexis Stewart, daughter of Martha, named her daughter Jude and Jessica Lange plays Sister Jude on American Horror Story. The popular novel, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, also features a main (female) character called Jude.

Jude

Both a biblical and an Israeli place-name, this can be used as an offbeat substitute for Deborah. 

Devora

Athalia was an Old Testament daughter of Jezebel and a king's powerful wife with a gory history. You don't wanna know -- and you probably don't wanna name your kid after her either. Pretty name, though, and one that's in step with the current fashions for A beginnings and endings as well as for distinctive names with deep roots.  Atalia is a simplified spelling..

Athalia

Elaya combines the elements of several popular choices including Maya, Elara, Elora, Alaia, Elijah, Eliana, and Aliyah. Pronounced as either eh-LAY-uh or eh-LYE-uh, it may be considered a variation of the Biblical Elijah or Leah, or a form of the Basque bird name, Elaia. Eulalia ("sweetly speaking") and Elia ("sun") may be other sources. 

Elaya

Lizzie was commonly used as an independent name in the last half of the nineteenth century. Today Lizzie is still one of the most stylish short forms of Elizabeth, but few U.S. parents put it on the birth certificate. 

Lizzie

A retro short form of Marina, dated to the era of the Hitchcock movie that made it famous, Marnie is beginning to feel fresh again — or rather, it is in the UK. Appearing in the Top 100 there in a recent year, parents may have been inspired by British singer Lily Allen, who gave it to her second daughter in 2013, or by the character in the hit TV show Girls.
 
Friendly and gentle with the the popular sounds of Annie, Marley, Maisie, and Marcy, Marnie manages to be sweet without feeling cutesy. With the added bonus of a sea-inspired meaning, Marnie is also seeing quiet shifts up the US stats, with 85 girls given the name in a recent year —the highest number of Marnies born in a single year since the late 1970s.

Marnie

When aspiring British writer Sadie Smith decided to change her name to the more distinctive and zippy Zadie at the age of fourteen, this attention-magnet name was born. But though it might sound like a modern initial-switch, Zadie was actually Number 539 in 1881, remaining in the Top 1000 for almost thirty years.
 
Currently given to around 115 girls in the US each year, across the pond in England and Wales, Zadie is making moves up the charts. A mash up of two popular choices, Zara and Sadie, which a hint of Jodie and Zoe thrown in, Zadie makes a distinctive but very wearable choice.

Zadie

Once rare, this streamlined form of Jessica has been boosted by two very different television figures: the Jemima Kirke character on HBO series Girls, and reality television daughter Jessa Duggar. 
 
Jessa is far less familiar than former favorite Jessica, a name now solidly in mom-name territory in the US. And yet, it might be too soon for Jessa to feel fresh. Jessamy or Jessamine might be more promising alternatives.

Jessa

Short, sweet, and sparky, Nava has been slowly climbing up the US popularity charts in recent years, owing perhaps to its similarity to Nova, Ava, Navy, and Nevaeh. Used quietly but consistently from the 80s onwards, Nava was given to nearly 80 girls in 2023.
 
A name with two separate origins, in Hebrew, it comes from the word navah meaning "beautiful, comely" or "comfortable". In Spanish, it is a place-inspired name, used as either a variation of Navarra meaning "from Navarre" or as a nod to Nava - the name of cities in both Spain and Mexico. Likely deriving from the Basque word naba, Nava is theorized to mean "plain or valley next to the mountain", and is used as both a given name and a surname.
 
Mexican actress Nava Mau, known for starring in the dark British comedy Baby Reindeer is a notable bearer and may have chosen her name to honor her mother, Rae-Ellen Levy Navarro.

Nava

There are many variations of this name, with or without the initial T and the final h, with one p or two.  In the Bible she was the wife of Moses.

Zipporah

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 8)

Hebrew Girl Names