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Water related words have become popular names in Israel in recent decades. Here are the most common ones.

גַּל (gal) is a masculine noun means wave. As a name it was specified for boys only for many years. Parents who wished to name their newborn daughter after this meaning used different declensions of the noun, such as: גַּלִּי (ga-li), גָּלִית (ga-lit), גַּלְיָה (gal-ya). Recently, though, it became common to name girls גַּל as well; Gal Gadot, for example – a famous Israeli actress and model.

Another Israeli model whose name was inspired by the liquid of life is Maayan Keret. מַעְיָן (ma-a-yan) is a masculine noun, meaning spring. For some reason, maybe because of its sound, it was commonly a female name. I personally have met only two boys so far with the name מַעְיָן. אֲגַם (a-gam) is also a masculine noun – meaning lake – that is very popular as a female name.

יָם (yam) means sea and is another modern name. Although masculine, it is used for boys and girls. יַמִּית (ya-mit) is an old variation of the name for girls. The suffix ית is added to the word יָם, and creates a name specified for girls. Most of the Hebrew nouns that end with ה or ת are female. אַדְוָה (ad-va), for example, is a feminine noun means ripple. It’s actually the only feminine noun in this list, and it fits only girls.

Other masculine nouns that became popular unisex names are: יוּבַל (yu-val) meaning creek; פֶּלֶג (pe-leg) meaning brook; and רִיף (rif), meaning reef, that became popular only lately.

In summary:

Agam Rudberg is a famous Israeli actress and model. She has three siblings. Her parents named all their four children by water related names: she herself is called אֲגַם, her older sister is called מַעְיָן, the younger sister אַדְוָה, and their only brother is פֶּלֶג.

We reviewed only 8 names in this post, but there many more water related Hebrew names. Tal, for example, which we already learned about. Do you know any other water related Hebrew name? Write me in the comments.

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