Kings and prophets: These were the top 10 Israeli baby names in 2025

With the start of a new civil year in Israel, the Population and Immigration Authority once again published a list of the most popular baby names for the year 2025.

The list contains some surprises, along with tried-and-true, religiously inspired names.

One of those is the frontrunner in the boys section, which has led this category for years – Muhammad (Mohammed).

A significant proportion of all Arab boys carry the name of the Islamic prophet, and with roughly 20% of Israel’s population being Arab, the name routinely leads this list.

Rounding out the top 3 boys’ names are two names that are shared among Jews and Arabs, ensuring a high position on the list: These are Yosef or Yusuf (Joseph), and Adam – names whose Jewish and Arabic forms are written identically in Hebrew.

Once again, the inspiration for both names comes from figures in both the Bible and the Islamic Quran.

In Islamic belief, the biblical first man, Adam, is described as the first prophet of monotheism and, therefore, of Islam. The story of Yusuf receives its own surah (chapter) in the Quran and is roughly the same as in the biblical account, with some additions.

Next are David (or the Arabic version, Daoud) and Ariel, while Lavi, Rafael, Omer, Eitan and Michael round out the list. The last two rose into the top 10 this year, replacing Daniel and Ori – which dropped out.

On the girls’ side, the situation is somewhat similar, as the top 10 also contains names that are shared by the Jewish and Muslim communities.

However, the list is led by the exclusively Jewish Avigail (Abigail), which comes from the name of one of King David’s wives.

Next in line is Miriam or Maryam, another name whose Jewish and Arabic pronunciations share the same spelling in Hebrew.

However, unlike the other shared names, the Jewish and Muslim versions derive from different sources.

For Jews, the main inspiration comes from Miriam, the elder sister of Moses and Aaron, whose story is related in the Old Testament.

For Muslims, the main inspiration is Mary (whose original Hebrew name is Miriam), the mother of Jesus, who is revered as a prophet in Islam.

The rest of the girls' names appearing on the list are mainly used within the Jewish community, and they have a larger proportion of modern Hebrew names that aren’t connected to tradition, but have nice meanings.

Miriam is followed by Libi, a name meaning “my heart.” Tamar, another biblical name, comes next, with Liya rounding out the top five

Next is Sarah (also biblical), which is sometimes used in the Arab community, followed by Yael, Ella, Ayala and Noa – not to be confused with the traditional boys’ name, Noah).

The order of the top 10 girls’ names remained largely unchanged from last year; however, Libi surged in popularity, climbing from eighth to second place.

One distinctive feature of many modern Hebrew names is their gender neutrality, allowing them to be used for both boys and girls. For boys, this is true for Ariel to some degree, as well as Omer. For girls, the name Yael can also be used for boys.