I love Hebrew names, but I’m wondering how usable some of them would be in the US. What do you think of these names? [name]Do[/name] you think they are wearable?
[name]Avigail[/name] – I’m thinking is pronounced [name]AH[/name]-vigail as in, “say ahh!” In that case, what do you think of [name]Avi[/name] as a nn? Also, would the name get confused with [name]Abigail[/name] all the time?
[name]Zipporah[/name]
[name]Shani[/name]
[name]Dalia[/name]
[name]Liora[/name]
[name]Samara[/name]
[name]Josette[/name]
[name]Naava[/name] – Not quite sure on the pronunciation of this one…
Meira
[name]Alizah[/name]
[name]Dara[/name]
Can you think of any good combos of these names with non-Hebrew firsts or middles?
Of these my favourites are [name]Naava[/name], [name]Samarah[/name], Meira, [name]Alizah[/name] and possibly [name]Shani[/name]. [name]Naava[/name] is quite an interesting name; I’m pronouncing it “NAH-va” in my mind.
I think [name]Avigail[/name] is usable; there would be lots of [name]Abigail[/name] confusion, but [name]Avi[/name] is a great nn.
I think a majority of them are very usable, especially [name]Avigail[/name], [name]Dalia[/name], [name]Samara[/name], [name]Dara[/name] and [name]Josette[/name] although as far as I know [name]Josette[/name] is French. From the list I really like [name]Avigail[/name], [name]Samara[/name] and [name]Josette[/name]
[name]Avigail[/name] - nice but i think it would get confused wit [name]Abigail[/name], I pronounce it like [name]Abigail[/name] with a v
[name]Zipporah[/name] - I love this, it’s really unexpected [name]Ann[/name]'s beautiful
[name]Shani[/name] - I pronounce it shah-nee and it sounds a little like a made up name
[name]Dalia[/name] - is this like dahlia? If so, yummy
[name]Liora[/name] - stunning
[name]Samara[/name] - makes me think of the ring
[name]Josette[/name] - sounds a little like an old woman name to me, not sure why
[name]Naava[/name] - I would pronounce this like nahla with a v, and I love it
Meira - nice
[name]Alizah[/name] - nice
[name]Dara[/name] - this is ok, I do t really have an opinion on it
I’m not too goo on making combos, so ill leave that to the professionals
[name]Avigail[/name] - Known one. I like it more than [name]Abigail[/name] because I’m not especially fond of [name]Abby[/name]. [name]Avi[/name] is fine as a nickname but more common on boys.
[name]Zipporah[/name] - Not super fond of this spelling but I guess its what’s likely to happen anyway. [name]One[/name] of my Hebrew names is [name]Tzippa[/name] which is a diminutive of it, Tzipporah would be more elegant. I sort of like the T, especially if its going to be a middle name. If the tz-sound isn’t going to happen anyway I sort of like [name]Sephora[/name]/Cephora which are translations. Zippy is kind of awful as a nickname.
[name]Shani[/name] - Dislike it. Looks like [name]Shari[/name] and [name]Shanna[/name] and those sort of names.
[name]Dalia[/name] - [name]Pleasant[/name]. I also like just [name]Dahlia[/name] and might go with that.
[name]Liora[/name] - I adore [name]Liora[/name]/[name]Leora[/name]. I don’t know which spelling would be easier for English speakers. [name]Liora[/name] is more current in [name]Israel[/name] I believe, [name]Leora[/name] is an old-fashioned transliteration I have a soft spot for.
[name]Samara[/name] - Dislike, sorry.
[name]Josette[/name] - Not Hebrew particularly. It’s fine?
[name]Naava[/name] – nah-[name]VAH[/name].
Meira - I forsee many people trying to read this as 2 syllables, like [name]Mira[/name] or [name]Myra[/name]? Mayira might be clearer? I don’t really like it. [name]Liora[/name]'s much prettier with similar meaning.
[name]Alizah[/name] - I don’t see English speakers getting that there’s an ee-sound in there and I imagine a lot of people will be thinking you can’t spell [name]Eliza[/name]. I sort of prefer [name]Aaliyah[/name]/[name]Aliyah[/name].
[name]Dara[/name] - Any chance of [name]Dinah[/name]/[name]Dina[/name]? (either die-nah or dee-nah)? I’m not keen on [name]Dara[/name].
They all seem usable to me however [name]Avigail[/name] will be confused with [name]Abigail[/name]. I love Tzipporah, [name]Navah[/name] ([name]Naava[/name] is nice too) and [name]Liora[/name]. I saw a documentary with a woman named [name]Navah[/name] Paskowitz and have loved [name]Navah[/name] “naw-vuh” ever since.
[name]Josefa[/name] (with a Y sound) or [name]Yosefa[/name] would be more Hebrew than [name]Josette[/name]. [name]Josette[/name] is several stages removed via the Bible to [name]France[/name]. Nothing wrong with that of course. And its a bit fresher than [name]Josephine[/name]. I also like [name]Joelle[/name] as far as that goes.
Thank you all for the feedback and help so far – I really appreciate it!
Huh, I kind of like [name]Naava[/name] with the emphasis on the first syllable, so it’s good to know that that is incorrect.
I’m happy to see the positive feedback on [name]Liora[/name] – it’s a new favorite of mine.
@stripedsocks: Yes, I much prefer [name]Avigail[/name] to [name]Abigail[/name] b/c I don’t like the nn [name]Abby[/name]. I know what you mean about Tzipporah being more pretty. I also like your idea of [name]Sephora[/name]! I have heard it is a cosmetics brand too though. [name]Do[/name] any of you Berries think that connection is too strong?
[name]Avigail[/name] - I do think there would be confusion with [name]Abigail[/name], but its just so pretty. Great choice and very usable.
[name]Zipporah[/name] - I may not want to use this, but its a cool, different choice that would be great to hear on a kid.
[name]Shani[/name] - It’s useable, but I feel it falls flat next to some of the others on your list.
[name]Dalia[/name] - Very pretty and useable.
[name]Liora[/name] - [name]Favorite[/name]!
[name]Samara[/name] - Pretty name, useable, but I still think of the American version of The [name]Ring[/name] when I hear it. I need a new association for this one.
[name]Josette[/name] - Useable, but falls flat next to many of the others.
[name]Naava[/name] - I can see this one being useable, but I think you’d always have pronunciation issues.
Meira - I agree with stripedsocks, I like [name]Liora[/name] so much more.
[name]Alizah[/name] - Pretty and useable.
[name]Dara[/name] - Great name and I think it would be very useable. It’s easy to say, but you might get some that confuse it with [name]Dora[/name], despite them being two completely different names.
I must say, I do think of cosmetics the moment I hear [name]Sephora[/name]. I would guess a lot of other women would too.
I think the majority of those are usable - and really lovely! I don’t know if you have come across [name]Tirzah[/name], but I thought you may like it. (teer-zah).
I would likely agree with you on Zippy as an awful nickname but I had a [name]Zipporah[/name] in my church (she was really little when I was a teen, so she’s not my age, she’s probably a teen now), they called her Zippy and it was the perfect nickname for her. She was a really happy, outgoing child, it just fit.
Yes, I think Zippy could make a cute nn. Idk what other nn’s would even go with [name]Zipporah[/name]…I think it would have to go without a nn (which is fine by me).
All of these names are super useable and pretty! I actually know people with each of these names. In terms of [name]Avigail[/name], the hebrew pronunciation is [name]Ah[/name]-vee-guy-uhl or [name]Avi[/name]-guy-uhl. While [name]Abigail[/name] is the english derivative of the name, [name]Avigail[/name] is a totally different sound, so i don’t think, it should be confused at all.
In terms of [name]Zipporah[/name], there are many ways of spelling it. Sippora, Tziporah etc. The nicknames that i know of are Zip/Sip, Tzippy, and [name]Ora[/name]. [name]Ora[/name] itself is a female hebrew name as well meaning light, or [name]Oria[/name] which means G-d’s [name]Light[/name].
Thank you namehappy – that was extremely helpful! I love the Hebrew pronunciation of [name]Avigail[/name] and I had never heard of [name]Ora[/name] and [name]Oria[/name] before. They are really pretty!
I know people with all of those names except for [name]Josette[/name] (which is, as stripedsocks said, more French than overtly Hebrew) and [name]Dara[/name] (which is a name in a lot of different languages, including Irish and Khmer). All of them are Jewish, most of them Orthodox. These names get positive feedback from people but definitely come across as foreign/exotic/ethnic.
[name]Avigail[/name] is 4 syllables, [name]Ah[/name]-vee-GAH-yeel. [name]Shani[/name] can be a nn for [name]Shoshana[/name], in which case emphasis is on the 1st syllable, or it can be a name by itself, meaning scarlet, with emphasis on the 2nd syllable. [name]Naava[/name] IS pronounced NAH-vuh. I’d spell [name]Zipporah[/name] with a Tz rather than just Z, because the Hebrew initial there actually makes a tz sound, i hate hearing it sound like zipper.
[name]Dalia[/name], [name]Liora[/name], and [name]Aliza[/name] are my favorites from here.
