In recent years, Israel has seen a shift in most common baby names, with new names appearing on the list alongside long-time favorites.
While the annual list of popular names is regularly published, this time, the Population and Immigration Authority also provided a historical overview of names given to newborns in Israel from the country's founding to early 2025.
Eight of the ten most popular boys' names since Israel's establishment in 1948 have biblical origins. The most common is Yosef, in all its variations, followed by David. Muhammad ranks third, followed by four more biblical names — Moshe, and the three patriarchs, Avraham, Yaakov and Yitzhak.
In eighth and ninth place are Michael and Daniel, which have gained popularity in recent years, while Alexander rounds out the top ten.
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Among Jewish Israelis, the most common boys' name is David, with Yosef in second place. Seven of the next eight names also come from the Bible: Moshe ranks third, followed by Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov in fourth through sixth place. The list concludes with Michael, Daniel, Chaim and Shlomo.
For girls, the most frequently given name across all sectors since Israel's founding is Sarah, followed by Rachel, Miriam and Esther. Hannah ranks fifth, with Rivka in sixth place, Yael in seventh and Michal, Tamar (which topped the list for many years) and Leah completing the top ten.
The Jewish sector saw a shift in the top two spots. Rachel is the most commonly given name to Jewish baby girls, followed closely by Sarah. Unlike the boys' list, all ten of the most common Jewish girls' names have biblical origins.