The Social Security Administration recently released the most popular baby names of 2024 and it looks like biblical boys’ names are very much still in vogue.
Noah is number two on the list, and Elijah, the biblical prophet for whom we leave a chair out on Passover, is number eight. Theodore, a fairly common name among Jewish parents (and the name of the founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl) rose to number four on the list. There were a lot of popular biblical names in the top 20, including Levi, Ezra, Daniel, Samuel and Michael. And in the top 50, we also had Joseph and the names of his biblical grandfather, Isaac (40) and father Jacob (41). The name Gabriel came in at number 43.
Non-traditional Hebrew names were also on the rise among newborn boys in the 2024 calendar year. The names Azaiah (God’s strength), Eliam (God’s nation) and Eliel (My God is God) rose in popularity, as did some non-traditional spellings of Hebrew names like Noa without an “h.” Yeshua, the Hebrew name for Jesus and the Hebrew word for salvation, has also risen (hehe) in popularity. Yiddish and Hebrew versions of popular biblical names also rose in popularity this year, including Yitzchok (Yiddish for Isaac), Shimon (Hebrew version of Simon) and Eithan (a less traditional spelling of the English Ethan and Hebrew Eitan). Another cute name that was given to more baby boys in 2024 is Benny, the diminutive of Benjamin — perhaps inspired by Nice Jewish Boy and Selena Gomez’s fiancé Benny Blanco?
When it came to girls’ names, Hebrew names were a little less popular. The one that ranked highest for girls in 2024 is Eliana, “God has answered,” (18) and then Ellie — which can be the female version of Eli, “my God” — (21) and Ella (30) which means both Goddess and also the name of certain types of trees like the Terebinth tree. Abigail, which has long been in the top 10 most popular names, was relegated to the 32nd most popular place. Just as it has in Israel, the name Nova has risen in popularity, though it is unclear if that has any connection to the October 7 massacre at the site of the Nova Festival.
The name Romy, which is both a Latin and Hebrew name that means “my exalted” and is beloved in Israel, has also risen in popularity. Vienna, the name of Jewish “Love Is Blind” contestant Alexa Lemieux’s child, is on the rise too. Winona also rose in popularity, hopefully because of Jewish icon Winona Ryder and her 2024 “Beetlejuice” franchise return. Rebekah, an alternative spelling for the name Rebecca, one of the Jewish matriarchs, was also given to more babies, as was the Hebrew name Malka, which means queen, and Noa, which means “movement” in Hebrew (and is also the name of Israeli celebrities like singer Noa Kirel and actor and activist Noa Tishby). Ezra, traditionally a boy’s name, also rose in popularity for girls, which is quite a delightful new trend.
