Hebrew is a Semitic language and contains many letters and sounds that are not easily pronounced by non-native speakers. Parents wishing to choose a Hebrew or Israeli baby name will want to consider some of the potential pitfalls and avoid choosing a name that is difficult for others to read or pronounce.

  • Sounds “R”. The letter “resh” in Hebrew is not equivalent to the “R” in English. The Hebrew resh is more of a trill sound, closer to Spanish. Many Hebrew names include it at the end of a word, such as Gur (cub), and it just doesn’t sound the same. Hebrew names beginning with resh, like Rotem, work best.
  • Guttural “Ch.” Another sound that does not appear in English is the guttural h, which sounds like throat clearing. Like “resh”, those who didn’t learn it as children may never master it. This sound is represented by two different letters in Hebrew, chet and chaf. To further confuse matters, those of North African descent pronounce the two slightly differently.
  • Vocalization. Many of the vowel sounds in Hebrew and Israeli baby names are similar to those in English. Note that most of them are not represented by letters like in English, but rather by vocalization symbols that may or may not be written. For example, there are two names represented by the letters Aleph, Vav, Resh, Yud: Uri and Ori. Both mean my light. Tzadi, Vet, Yud, Heh represent the Biblical names Tzivyah and Tzviyah, which can mean female or possibly beautiful deer.
  • wrong pronunciations. Even native speakers often mispronounce Hebrew names. The name Oshrit (happiness), spelled Aleph, Shin, Resh, Yud, Taph, is often pronounced Ashrit. This comes from a misunderstanding. The vocalization of the kamatz, which appears below the aleph, is usually pronounced “ah”. But in certain grammatical situations it becomes a “little kamatz” and is pronounced “oh”. Israelis care about the grammar and meaning of their words, and they don’t usually make up names out of thin air.
  • Missing sounds. The letter heh is often represented by an H in English, but modern Israelis do not pronounce it in all cases, even when it appears at the beginning of a word. So the names Hadar (glory) and Adar (Hebrew month name) could be pronounced identically in Hebrew. Yahel (bring light) will sound very similar to Yael (ibex).
  • Two vowels together. When Hebrew and Israeli baby names are spelled in English, it is common for two vowels to appear together. This can be confusing for non-native Hebrew speakers. Some people choose to use an apostrophe. Examples include: Micha’el (Michael, who is like God), Ya’el (ibex), Ya’ir (he will ignite).