Obscure Hebrew Names

etky

Fri, Dec 28 2018, 5:17 am

Nofar Tzofia,Tiferet and Ateret are quite common 'young names' in my circles.
Shlomzion,Ruchama and Bruriah less popular nowadays but they are far from obscure. I know several women my age with each of these names.
Daphna is really outdated now but in my age group (50+) it was ubiquitious (like 4 or 5 in my grade).
Hatzlalponit is really not used.
OP, could you be a little more specific about what kind of name you are looking for?
Boy, girl, tanachi, modern, traditional?
Also, what do you mean by obscure? Less well-known or hardly used?

amother

Babypink

Fri, Dec 28 2018, 5:35 am

I don't know where you're located but I got Hebrew name books through the library that gave me good ideas and were helpful with meanings and origin. I found it easier to flip through books than search online.

Ruchel

Fri, Dec 28 2018, 5:39 am

Some of these names are quite common!
Shimshon's mother, I know one (or two?).
Nitzevet I know a couple
There are many rare Ladino or Yiddish names

Miri1

Fri, Dec 28 2018, 10:17 am

Ravital or Revital (as far as I know is not biblical)
Revaya
Gitit
Shacharit
Ronen
Chen
Aviya (I've heard it for girls, but in the Tanach it appears as both a the grandson of Binyamin, as well as the daughter in law of Peretz, amongst others)
Avigal (not Avigail, in Tanach it is a variation on Avigail)
Or
Boaz (Biblical)
Idit
Amitai
Adiel
Yiskah (Biblical)

Could go on and on, but what type of name are you looking for?

BetsyTacy

Fri, Dec 28 2018, 10:33 am

No idit if there is an anglo connection please. It looks way too close to idiot in English.
I didn't think I knew that many people so I am surprised at how many of these names I know irl. I have never heard of a hatzlelponi. I don't even think we learned that was aishes manoach's name in school, which is odd because I learned a lot of navi really well.
I think I would give that name a pass too.

amother

Brunette

Fri, Dec 28 2018, 11:10 am

Chavatzelet (a type of flower)
Atira (I think it both sounds pretty and has a beautiful meaning)
Avyasaf (you'll have to look in Divrei Yamim to find that one!)
Kehat (I feel like that's not so out-there, but I've only ever met one person with that name)
I've long said if I ever have twin boys I'd name them Mupim and Chupim, but that's just in jest.

aliavi

Fri, Dec 28 2018, 11:16 am

Miri1 wrote:

My second name is Avigail, said like the English Abigail, not the Avigaayle, Hebrew pronunciation. I had a rebbe that refused to call me by it because he said it wasn’t a proper name, so, OP, “obscure” may not work out all well.

jerusalem90

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 10:59 am

Zimratya
Ayelet HaShachar
Achinoam
Chaanach
Hoshiana
Chaviva
Heleni (ok not quite a Hebrew name but name of queen who converted to Judaism)
Rinatya
Sinaiya
Ahavatelle

etky

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 11:26 am

BetsyTacy wrote:

It's not mentioned in the text in Shoftim. It's midrash, based on the mention of the name (from the family of Kalev) in Divrei Hayamim.
Re Idit - I suppose that if one really likes the name, it could be spelled differently like Ideet.

Rappel

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 12:44 pm

I agree with the poster above who said to be careful with the mazal of a certain name. Below, I'll only include names where I've met someone with that name, and they have a good life (and I don't know anyone with such a name who has a tragic life).

Girls:י
הללויה
ציונה
יסכה
מעיין
קדם
רוני
שלהבתיה
הודיה
קרן
אביה
אחינועם
מירב
נטע
גאולה
יונה
חירות
מוריה
בתיה
צופיה
יונינה

Boys:
ידידיה
בניהו
אלישע
לביא
מיכאל
עמיחי
אשר
רפאל
אלישיב
צוריאל

Rappel

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 2:48 pm

Ruchel wrote:

Too bad, most common names will have someone with a tragic life

If it's one among several, then I wouldn't worry.

But I do think that names give a certain guidance to a person's soul, and if everyone I know who has that name are having trouble with something, then it raises my suspicions.

The OP specifically asked for rare names, so we're working off a population of 1 or 2 people here. If either of them are having a really tough time of it, then no, I won't recommend that name, in case any aspect of it played a role in that woman's troubles.

OP - I noticed another poster suggested Shlomtzion. She's one of my heroes, and I wanted to name my daughter after her, but when I asked several people I know, they all recommended I don't. They said it was in vogue a while ago, and that it didn't turn out well. I didn't press them for details.

Ruchel

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 2:55 pm

I'm so curious. I don't believe in names shaping destiny except the obvious sociocultural /social class thing, explaining why more Mohammeds than Jean-Lucs pratice Islam...

amother

Fuchsia

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 5:28 pm

amother wrote:

I've long said if I ever have twin boys I'd name them Mupim and Chupim, but that's just in jest.

My dad always use to say that!

Kiwi13

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 6:50 pm

I understand not wanting your child to be one of 100 in his/her school with the same name, but make sure you choose a name you love and don't choose or decline a name only because of its popularity/rarity. You never know how many other parents are thinking the same thing. I've taught preschool classes with 3 or 4 children (out of 10-15) named the same previously-uncommon name, but suddenly the name made a booming comeback and all those "unique" families had kids with the same name. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but if you choose a name with the expectation of it being unique, just make sure you'll still love it even if it ends up being a popular name in a few years' time. Bshaa tova!

turca

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 7:10 pm

Ruchel wrote:

I'm so curious. I don't believe in names shaping destiny except the obvious sociocultural /social class thing, explaining why more Mohammeds than Jean-Lucs pratice Islam...

I also don’t believe in name shaping destiny also ...there are some coincidences that are too spooky... A horrible thing happened to 2 different people. They had the same name and were about the same age. I can’t stop thinking about it.