The New Name Dictionary

As a rabbi who formally gives Hebrew names to infants (and often their parents), I have found this book to be an invaluable resource. Spellings, meanings, and background to many Hebrew names are offered in a clear and easy to follow format. This is a terrific resource for me and anyone who is fascinated by the meaning of our names.

This is a pretty complete book that lists the meaning of the names (mostly Hebrew, Yiddish, some "modern English"), as well as Hebrew equivalents and opposite-gender Hebrew equivalents (useful for naming your daughter after your father, for example). It also gives the Hebrew spelling of the Hebrew names. There are also appendices of Hebrew Unisex names, Yiddish names (in English) and Hebrew names (in Hebrew) without any explanations. This is good for a quick glance through the names, and you can check out more details in the main part of the book for the names you like. There are a few detractors from the book: it is inconsistent. Some names have quite a bit more information than others. He leaves out equivalents at times, and on one name (I don't remember which) it listed an equivalent, and I flipped through to check it out, but that name wasn't listed! Also, some names are missing (not many), but the strange thing was that one of the names on the Hebrew list (Ruchama) was not in the main part of the book. Although the book mentions when a name is an alternate spelling of another name (it also lists pet forms), "Lee" and "Li" were listed as having totally different origins. And one last thing--it would be nice if the author listed the original biblical person for the names that this information is known.