Tamar and Mohammad still on top of Israel's baby name list

Figures released ahead of the Jewish new year show 168,441 babies were born in the past year, 61,181 people were married, 24,868 got divorced, and 41,165 died

The most popular baby names in Israel over the past year were Tamar for girls and Mohammad for boys, which remained at the top of the lists for the fourth consecutive year, according to figures released Monday by the Interior Ministry.

Over the past Hebrew calendar year, 168,441 babies were born in Israel — almost 2,000 more than last year — the Population, Immigration and Border Authority said in its annual review, published to coincide with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, which begins on Sunday night.

The 10 most popular girls’ names were Tamar, Avigail, Miriam, Sarah, Adele, Yael, Noa, Shira, new entry Noya, and Lia, with Talya falling off the list.

For boys, Noam was relegated from the top-10 list in favor of Lavi. The most popular names were Mohammad, Yosef, Ariel, Omer, Adam, David, Daniel, Lavi, Eitan and Ori.

There were 61,181 Israelis who got married in the past year, while 24,868 were divorced. A total of 41,165 Israelis died this past year.