Given name & surname · also Gaelic, Latin
Rebecca
“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”
Rebecca is a feminine given name from Latin, ultimately from Hebrew. It is used in English, French, German, Italian, and 5 other languages.
Original Hebrewרִבְקָה
Meaning & origin
What it means
Rebecca goes back to Hebrew רִבְקָה (Rivka), meaning “enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Latin and Hebrew naming traditions.
How it developed
From Hebrew רִבְקָה (Rivka, “enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
The name has a place in biblical naming traditions.
Rebecca through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 758,106
- 2,114 boys · 755,992 girls
- Most popular year
- 1981
- 16,801 babies
- 2025
- 872
- #350 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −30%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 872 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 350 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 29.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 16,737 in 1981. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (112). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 645,350 as a first name in 2020; 529 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Rebecca’s family of names
In English usage, Rebecca has a diminutive in Becky. In English usage, Rebecca shares an earlier linguistic root with Rivka. Rebecca is a form of Jacob.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Rebecca has relatives in 31 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
Hebrewwhere Rebecca comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 45
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Rivkavariant · English
- Rebekahvariant · English
- Beckdiminutive · English
- Rebecavariant · Spanish, Portuguese
- Beckydiminutive · English
- Beccadiminutive · English
- Bexdiminutive · English
- Rebekavariant · Czech, Polish
Show 37 moreShow fewer
- Rebadiminutive · English
- Rebeckavariant · German, Swedish
- Becksdiminutive · English
- Rebeccahvariant · English
- Beckiediminutive · English
- Beckadiminutive · English
- Beckidiminutive · English
- Bekishort form · English
- Rebekkavariant · German, Norwegian Bokmål
- Revekkavariant
- Rebekkahvariant
- Rebekhavariant
- Rebeckahvariant
- Rebbievariant
- Rebbeccavariant
- Rebbecavariant
- Rebakahvariant
- Rebecccalikely variant
- Rrebeccalikely variant
- Becdiminutive · English
- Bekaydiminutive · ceb
- Bekangdiminutive · ceb
- Rimcavariant
- Rebivariant
- Ribeccavariant
- Revekahvariant
- Revekavariant
- Rebequevariant
- Rebekkevariant
- Rebehavariant
- Rebeckyvariant
- Rebeckiavariant
- Rebechavariant
- Rebecckavariant
- Rebecceavariant
- Rebbeckavariant
- Rébeccavariant · French
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 27
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- רִבְקָהHebrew
- Jacobbase name
- Rivarelated form
- Rivkahequivalent
- Rifkaequivalent
- רבקהequivalent
- РевеккаRussian
- РебеккаRussian
Show 19 moreShow fewer
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Rebecca
- Rebecca RomijnAmerican actress and model (born 1972)
- PocahontasAmerican native woman1596–1617
- Rebecca FergusonSwedish actress (born 1983)
- Rebecca HallEnglish actress and filmmaker (born 1982)
- Rebecca WestBritish writer, journalist, literary critic, and feminist (1892-1983)
- Becky GAmerican singer (born 1997)
- Rebecca BlackAmerican singer (born 1997)
- Rebecca De MornayAmerican actressborn 1959
- Becky LynchIrish professional wrestler and actressborn 1987
Characters named Rebecca: Rebecca Chambers (Resident Evil fictional character), Pamela Rebecca Barnes (fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Rebecca, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jessica
“The Lord sees all”
>99% girls
Rachel
“ewe”
>99% girls
Amy
“dearly loved”
>99% girls
Sarah
“princess”
>99% girls
Emily
“rival”
>99% girls
Veronica
“displaying her true image”
>99% girls
Samantha
“one who listens well”
>99% girls
Yessica
“the Lord sees all” · “The Lord sees all”
>99% girls