Naftali

נַפְתָלִי

• Gender: Male
• Origin: Biblical / Rabbinic Hebrew
• Meaning: my struggle

• Naftali is one of the twelve sons of Jacob and the name of an Israelite tribe whose biblical blessing compares them to a swift deer set free. That image of a running deer gives Naftali a surprising nature-adjacent energy that you do not often find in biblical names. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett brought this name into international headlines, introducing it to millions who might never have encountered it otherwise.

  Picture a swift deer bounding across a hillside — that's the energy this name carries, practically leaping off the page. Its three syllables have a musical, galloping rhythm that is fun to say and impossible to confuse with anyone else in the class. A name that appeals to parents who love both Torah and the outdoors, with a vitality that few biblical names can match.

• Alternate Spellings: Naphtali
• Potential Sibling Name:
  Rivka
  ,
  Shoshana
  ,
  Avraham
  ,
  Yitzchak