Gender Feminine
Scripts רִבְקָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced Pron. rə-BEHK-ə(English) reh-BEHK-ka(Italian)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

From the Hebrew name רִבְקָה (Rivqah), probably from a Semitic root meaning "join, tie, snare". This is the name of the wife of Isaac and the mother of Esau and Jacob in the Old Testament. It came into use as an English Christian name after the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular with the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been consistently used since then, becoming especially common in the second half of the 20th century.

This name is borne by a Jewish woman in Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe (1819), as well as the title character (who is deceased and unseen) in Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca (1938).

Related Names

VariantsRebeccah, Rebeckah(English) Rebecka(Swedish) Rebekka(German) Rebekka(Dutch)
DiminutivesBecca, Becci, Becka, Beckah, Becky, Bekki, Reba, Beck(English)
Other Languages & CulturesRhebekka(Biblical Greek) Rivqah(Biblical Hebrew) Rebeka(Czech) Rebekka(Danish) Rebekka(Faroese) Rebekka(Finnish) Rébecca(French) Rivka, Riva(Hebrew) Rebeka(Hungarian) Rebekka(Icelandic) Rebekka(Norwegian) Rebeca(Portuguese) Rebeca(Romanian) Rebeka(Slovak) Rebeka(Slovene) Rebeca(Spanish) Rifka(Yiddish)
Same SpellingRébecca

People think this name is

classic   mature   formal   upper class   natural   wholesome   strong   refined   serious  

Images

Depiction of the biblical Rebecca by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1713)Depiction of the biblical Rebecca by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1713)

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Entry updated April 5, 2022