Hebrew Names for Boys

Sounds a bit like a nickname in a Dickens novel, but this short form was used in New England a few centuries ago, back when names like Micajah were popular.  Both short and long forms are now ripe for revival.

Cager

Alef was brought into the spotlight when Natalie Portman chose the alternate spelling Aleph for her son.  This is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, similar to calling your child Alpha or Primo.

Alef

The Biblical Addar was a son of King Bela. This obscure name is simple and strong and well-suited to modern life. It feels almost like a cross between Adlai and Asher, two better-known boys' names from the Old Testament that also start with A -- though the near-homonym with the word "adder," a family of poisonous snake, adds a touch of danger.

Addar

Rosh is not Ross, not Rush, but an improvement on both of those more familiar names.  The Biblical Rosh was a son of Benjamin, so you might consider it to honor a father or otherwise ancestral Benjamin. Very much associated with the Jewish New Year holiday, Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh

We've been hearing a lot more of Silas and even of Cyrus, which means the obscure Tiras may have a shot at resurrection as a same-but-different name.  And you can call him Ti.  The Old Testament Tiras was a grandson of Noah.

Tiras

The Biblical Zerah is etymologically related to such names as Zora, which also means dawn.  While the vowel sound at the end of the name does not sound as feminine to our modern ear as it once did, thanks to such popular choices as Noah and Joshua, but the downside of Zerah is that it is quite similar to such girls' names as Zara and Sarah.  

Zerah

Ephai may have a sad meaning but it's an interesting Biblical alternative to such widely-used names as Eli and Elijah.

Ephai

Avdel is an obscure Old Testament name with a straightforward feel and sound and the fashionable A initial.  One to consider if you want a highly unusual yet not difficult Hebrew or Biblical name.

Avdel

Maro is an ancient saints' name -- he was an Italian follower of St. Flavia and was martyred -- rarely used in modern life. The name Maro may stem from the Roman Marcellus, related to Mars, the god of war, or it may be a feminine form of Maria, connected with Mario. Maro is also a Japanese name meaning "myself."
 
And why couldn't Maro be more widely used today? As a masculine spin on stylish Mara, it certainly could.

Maro

In Genesis, this is the name of a son of Abraham and Keturah, and it's also a place name. Negative meaning aside, Midian is an attractive name with deep roots that's exceedingly rare. They call that a Trifecta.

Midian

Derived from the Hebrew word for "universe, macrocosm, world", this modern choice may appeal to those who like Evren for its meaning.

Tevel

Also appearing as Gedalyahu, this is a Hebrew form of the rare Biblical name Gedaliah, notably appearing in the Old Testament as a governor of Judea under the Babylons. 

Gedaliahu

Nemi is a short, sweet unisex name, with a whole range of origins, though for boys, it is most notably used as either a short form of Biblical Nehemiah, or as the birth name of King Dasharatha who appears in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Other possibilities are that it comes from the Latin Nemesis ("enemy"), nemus ("holy wood"), or Nemo ("nobody") or a shortened form of Neminatha, the name of a surpreme preacher of Jainism.

Nemi

Simple, attractive, and worldly, would fit in with the Kierans and Kylans in the preschool class. It has its origins in Thai, from which it means "eternal", and in Hebrew, from which it may be a variation of Nir, meaning "plowed field" or used as an abbreviation of noled yeled rishon, meaning "first born son". 
 
Also used in Nigeria and a number of Arabic speaking countries, it may relate to a Yoruba word meaning "to have a memory" or "to have a (supernatural) vision", to a Persian word meaning "pomegranate" or an Arabic word meaning "fire".

Niran

Naum is a Biblical name, rarely heard outside Russia, Bulgaria and surrounding areas, though alternative form Nahum is beginning to receive more attention in the US. Derived from the Hebrew naham, it has the pleasing and gentle meaning of "comfort, console".
 
Also used in the Latin Bible, Naum is pronounced as nu-OOM in Russia and as NA-oom in Macedonia. It is a saintly choice, borne by the 9th century Naum of Preslav, and an arty feeling choice, thanks to the prominent Russian Constructionist sculptor Naum Gabo.

Naum

A masculine name in the Old Testament, but used contemporarily as a feminine name. It is borne by the son of King David in the Bible and could make an interesting alternative to Noah. 
 
Noga is an alternative spelling of the name, which does, however, coincide with the word for "leg" in a number of Slavic languages.

Nogah

This unisex name appears multiple times in the Bible on both male and female figures, though when spelled as Timnah, it is also a Biblical place name. Traditionally pronounced teem-NAH in Hebrew, in Austria, it is pronounced TIM-na.

Timna

Zadig is the name of the hero and philosopher in Voltaire's 1747 novella, Zadig, ou la Destinée ("Zadig, or The Book of Fate"), though it may be better associated today with the fashion retailer Zadig&Voltaire whose name was inspired by the classic work.
 
Derived from the Arabic Sadiq, meaning "true, sincere, loyal" or from the Hebrew tzadik, a title for a righteous person, it may also be viewed as an Armenian choice, stemming from the word for Easter. The pronunciation can vary depending on where you are in the world: in French, it would be ZA-DEEK, in Armenian, it would be zah-DEEG; in English, it may be said as ZA-deeg.
 
Recent years have seen it gain attention in modern France as a quirky-chic choice.

Zadig

Ozran is a one-of-a-kind Hebrew name that easily leads to the stylish nickname Oz. Despite being a masculine name, Ozran refers to a feminine helper, while the possessive pronoun 'Ozram refers to a masculine helper. Ozri, meaning "my helper" is a potential short form.

Ozran

These days, you might hear Behemoth used to describe something very large, like a big company that dominates a certain market, a newly discovered black hole, or a massive cruise ship. In a Biblical context, however, Behemoth is a chaos monster created by God, who alongside Leviathan, will become food for the righteous in the end-times.
 
Also the name of a Polish death metal band and a talking cat in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, The Master and Margarita, Behemoth is probably best left as a descriptive word or a reserved for a fictional character and pets.

Behemoth

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. 

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 24)

Hebrew Boy Names