The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes the data on names in Israel for 2023 among the general population, and we found several innovations.
For the second year in a row, the most common name in the Jewish sector for girls is "Abigail." Followed in second place by "Tamar" and then "Ayala". The names Maya, Noa, Sarah, Yael, Esther, Adele and Libby were also in the top ten names for Jewish girls in 2022.
The bureau examined the breakdown of names by region and found that the name "Abigail" was most common in Be'er Sheva, "Tamar" in Modi'in-Ilit, "Maya" in Tel Aviv-Yafo, and "Sarah" in Beitar Ilit, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak and Jerusalem.
In the names of boys in the Jewish sector, the name "David" is also the most common for the second year. This is followed by the names "Ariel" and "Lavi". The names Raphael, Joseph, Ari, Noam, Uri, Moshe and Yehuda were also in the top ten names for Jewish boys in 2022.
The name "David" was most common in Jerusalem, Netanya and Ashdod. The name "Lavi" is most common in Holon, Be'er Sheva and Petah Tikva.
"Muhammad" for boys, "Maryam" for girls
The data also examined the most popular names in other sectors in Israel and found that in the Muslim sector the most common name for girls is "Maryam," followed by "Liane" and "Sham." Boys have the most common name "Muhammad" but it is declining and this year fewer boys have been called by that name. This is followed by the names "Ahmad" and "Yusef."
The name "Muhammad" was most common among Muslims in all cities with Muslim populations, "Joseph" was most common in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Rahat and Tel Sheva.
The data also examined the most common names among the Christian population, and found that among Christian girls the most common name is "Mila", among boys the most common name is "George". Among the Druze population, it was found that the most popular names are "Ayala" for girls and "Adam" for boys.
"Eitan" and "Maya" in the highest clusters
The survey also examined the popular names according to socioeconomic cluster and found that in the lower clusters the popular name for boys is "David" and for girls "Sarah", in the medium clusters for boys "Lavi" and girls "Maya" and in the higher clusters "Eitan" for boys and "Maya" for girls.
In addition, the popular names were examined according to the country of origin of their parents. Among families where both parents were native, the most common name for boys was "Muhammad" and for girls "Ayala." Among families in which one of the parents is born abroad, the popular name for boys is "Eitan" and for girls "Maya". In families where both parents are foreign-born, the popular name for boys is "Daniel" and for girls "Maya"
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