<a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/158/Hebrew-Names">Hebrew boy names</a> have been in continual use for thousands of years, and with good reason: such classics as Joseph, Jonathan and Daniel are all Hebrew boys’ names. In fact, many of the most widely-used boys’ names in English-speaking countries are Hebrew in origin, include recent Number one names Noah and Jacob. But some Hebrew boy names are still far off the beaten track.
 
Along with Noah and Jacob, other Hebrew boys’ names in the US top 100 include Adam, Asher, Caleb, Elijah, Isaac, Levi, Nathan, and Samuel. 
 
Baby boy names popular in Israel include Uri — especially among Jewish Israelis — Ariel, Noam, and Eitan.
 
More unusual boys’ names with Hebrew origins range from Aleph to Zebedee. Browse our full roster of Hebrew names for boys here. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.
 
You might also want to check out our list of <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/489/Hebrew-Names-for-girls">Hebrew girl names</a>.

Hebrew Names for Boys

Chalil

Still one of the most appealing short forms, which goes a long way toward explaining the sustained popularity of Matthew.  Matt is perennially the popular guy in high school, friendly, attractive, and comfortable with a baseball.  Matty or Mattie are cute for a younger boy.

Matt

Mattie ranked among the Top 1000 for boys a century ago, in the heyday of the nickname-name.  Today, few parents would dream of putting it on the birth certificate, preferring it as a short form for the perennially-popular Matthew.  Mattie is in the Top 1000 in the U.S. for girls.

Mattie

More common -- when it was common -- with the Meyer spelling. 

Mayer

Old-fashioned but right on trend with the likes of Miller, Baker, Sawyer, and Major, Meyer has been borne by gangsters, businessman, sculptors, composers, and writers alike. 
 
A versatile choice in terms of meaning and origin, it has its roots in German, from which it means "tenant, farmer, bailiff" and "leader of the household" and in Dutch, from which it means "great" via Latin. It's also a variation of the Hebrew Meir, meaning "shining" or "enlightening", and was often adopted from the 1700s, in order to assimilate with German culture.
 
Familiar as a given name in the late 19th- to early 20th-century, Meyer dropped out of the US Top 1000 in the 1930s. Recent years have seen renewed interest in the choice, with around 100 boys given the name in the latest counts.
 
Typically pronounced as MIE-uhr in English, it would be said as as MIE-uh in German and Hebrew, and as MAY-uhr in Dutch.

Meyer

A middle-aged, if not elderly, name associated with Israeli statesman and onetime prime minister Begin, this is a symbolic appellation for boys born on the holiday of Tishah-b'Ab. 

Menachem

This name of a minor Hebrew prophet in the Old Testament is rarely heard outside the Jewish culture. 

Nachum

An Old Testament name -- he was the eldest son of Joseph -- that's still used in the Jewish community. 

Menashe

Derived from Aku, the name of the Babylonian god of the moon. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament this is the Babylonian name of Mishael, one of the three men cast into a furnace but saved by God. Meshach Taylor is an actor who has been featured on several sitcoms.

Meshach

Biblical name Cain was, until recently, seldom heard outside of the Old Testament and soap operas. Although Cain's murderous actions will always make this name difficult for some, Cain, Eve and Adam's firstborn, was a farmer - making this a good choice for those with farming connections. Long outshone by Abel, Cain is starting to find a broader audience, helped along by homophones Kane or Caine.

Cain

Biblical family with 323 children. That's a lot of eggs. 

Bezai

Unusual biblical name that may be too close in sound to the feminine Mariah. 

Beriah

Mentioned in the Old Testament as both a place-name and a grandson of Ephraim, this would make a fairly obscure biblical choice. 

Bered

Mordecai, although it has a noble heritage, has never caught on in this country, because of its rather weighty image. Nevertheless, with parents searching for rarer Biblical names that work as alternatives to Malachi and Matthew, Mordecai has seen increased interest in recent years and was given to 74 boys in the US in 2024. 

 Mordecai is a symbolic name for boys born on the holiday of Purim, because this cousin of Queen Esther helped her save the Jews from destruction at the hands of Haman.
 Mordecai Richler was a Canadian author and screenwriter whose best known work is The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.

Mordecai

Naaman

Positive meaning -- and a choice of spelling variations. 

Nahir

A worldly choice that translates well, Namir is an animal-related choice in Hebrew and Arabic. 

Namir

Certainly qualities desired for our sons. 

Naor

Rarely used biblical choice -- he's a son of Jacob -- with a bit of a white-bearded image. 

Naphtali

What the Old Testament Rachel originally named Benjamin, before his father changed it; rarely heard today. 

Benoni

Hebrew boy names have been in continual use for thousands of years, and with good reason: such 

 are all Hebrew boys’ names. In fact, many of the most widely-used boys’ names in English-speaking countries are Hebrew in origin, include recent Number one names Noah and Jacob. 

Along with Noah and Jacob, other 

 include Adam, Asher, Caleb, Elijah, Isaac, Levi, Nathan, and Samuel. 

origins include James, Joseph, and John.



 popular in Israel include Uri — especially among Jewish Israelis — Ariel, Noam, and Eitan.


But some Hebrew boy names are still far off the beaten track. 

 here, ordered according to their current popularity on Nameberry. Or you can see all Hebrew boy names in alphabetical order if you 

Hebrew boy names including meaning and popularity, with Old Testament boy names such as Isaac and Moses and top Hebrew boy names such as Noah and Jacob. (Page 11)

415+ Hebrew Boy Names