While Hebrew and Arabic, as well as other Semitic languages, have much in common linguistically, sometimes it can be tough to find names that work in both languages and in both Jewish and Muslim cultural contexts. This list of beautiful crossover names is here to help you find the right one. Many of the following monikers sound essentially the same in both Hebrew and Arabic, but have separate meanings.
Jews have a long history of living in Muslim-majority cultures, where they often used Arabic names or the Arabic variant of the original Hebrew name. One such example is Suleyman, the Arabic version of Shlomo (Solomon). Many Jews today are still unaware that Jews in Arabic-speaking countries also developed their own ethnolect, Judeo-Arabic, so you’ll find some Judeo-Arabic names on the list as well. Judeo-Arabic is currently endangered, so it could be a meaningful way to pay tribute to this culturally rich ethnolect.
Boys’ Names
Abrafim: “Father of multitudes” in Judeo-Arabic
Adam: “earth” in Arabic and Hebrew
Aden/Adin: “handsome” in Arabic; gentle in Hebrew
Adi: “one who charges,” in Arabic; a special kind of jewel mentioned in the Bible or “my eternity” in Hebrew
Amir: “ruler” in Arabic; “treetop” in Hebrew
Barack: “lightning” in Arabic and Hebrew
Daniel/Danyal: “God is my judge” in Arabic and Hebrew (this name is unisex in Hebrew)
Elyas: “Lord is my God” in Arabic and Hebrew
Galaf: Judeo-Arabic for “he swore”
Hanan: “compassion” in Arabic; “pardoned, graced” in Hebrew
Omar: “long lived” in Arabic; “gifted speaker” in Hebrew
Maimon: “fortunate” in Arabic and Hebrew
Rami: “archer” in Arabic; a diminutive of Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah), Aviram or Ram. Ram means tall and lofty in Hebrew.
Saad: “luck,” in Arabic; “support” in Hebrew
Sami: “elevated” in Arabic; a diminutive of Samuel, a biblical prophet and Jewish leader
Yussef: “God shall add” in Judeo-Arabic
Zekaria: “God has remembered” in Arabic and Hebrew
Girls’ Names
Adara: “young woman,” in Arabic; “noble” in Hebrew
Aliya: “exalted” in Arabic; “to go up” in Hebrew
Amira: “princess” in Arabic; “treetop” in Hebrew
Aya: “wonderful” in Arabic; “honey buzzard” in Hebrew, and also an acronym for the Hebrew expressions “if Hashem wills it” (im yirtzeh hashem) and “beautiful land of Israel” (eretz Yisrael yafa).
Dalia: “flowering branch” in Arabic and Hebrew
Dina: “judgement” in Arabic and Hebrew
Hana: “bliss” in Arabic; “grace” in Hebrew
Laila: “night” in Arabic and Hebrew
Mira: “ocean” in Arabic; “bitter water” in Hebrew
Nava: “beautiful” in Arabic and Hebrew
Nora: “light” in Arabic and Hebrew
Rania: “queen” in Arabic; “God’s joy” in Hebrew
Reena: “song” in Arabic, Urdu and Hebrew, also “joy” in Hebrew
Sahar: “dawn” in Farsi and Arabic, “moon” or “crescent” in Hebrew (the name is unisex in Hebrew)
Sara: “princess” in Hebrew and Arabic
Unisex Names
(Note: It is hard to find truly unisex names that work in both a Jewish and a Muslim context, but these are some of the more viable options.)
Amal: “labor” in Arabic and Hebrew
Dana: “judgement” in Arabic and Hebrew (though note that Dana is not typically used as a unisex name in Hebrew).
Zia: “shine” in Arabic and Hebrew
