Avigayil and Ariel were the most popular names given to Israeli Jewish girls and boys, born in the Hebrew year 5784, the Population and Immigration Authority said on Monday, ahead of Rosh Hashanah.
The top three names for Jewish girls born across the Jewish state over the past year were Avigayil, followed by Tamar and Yael, the government agency said, echoing the statistics of the Hebrew year 5783 (2022-2023).
For Jewish baby boys, Ariel, David and Lavi were the most popular names. Last year, David headed the list, followed by Ariel and Lavi.
The most prevalent name for Israeli babies remained Muhammad, with 1,846 newborns being given the name of the founder of Islam over the past 12 months, compared to some 1,000 Jewish Ariels.
Israel’s population is expected to surpass 10 million in the coming weeks, according to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
As 5784 draws to a close, some 7.689 million (78.6%) Israelis identify as Jewish and 2.095 million (21.4%) as Arab. Approximately 183,000 babies were born in the Jewish state over the past 12 months.
The two-day Rosh Hashanah holiday begins at sundown on Wednesday, Oct. 2, ushering in the new Hebrew year of 5785 (2024-2025).
Following the Oct. 7 massacre, Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority witnessed a rise in popularity of the names Be’eri, Oz, Erez, Nova and Nir, alluding to places that were attacked by Hamas terrorists.
Forty-five Israeli newborns—34 boys and 11 girls—were named after Kibbutz Be’eri, where terrorists butchered more than 100 people. Be’eri was one of the hardest-hit areas in the Hamas-led attacks last October. Some 30% of the town’s inhabitants were murdered or taken hostage by terrorists.
