Rebekah

About Rebekah

Rebekah is a biblical English form of Rebecca, from Hebrew Rivqah. Its deeper meaning is uncertain, probably connected with a root for joining, tying, or a snare. In Genesis, Rebekah becomes Isaac's wife and the mother of Esau and Jacob. This spelling gives the familiar name a particularly direct association with English Bible translations.

Meaning and related forms

Rebekah and Rebecca represent the same older name. Rebekah retains the k and final h familiar from many English Bible translations, while Rebecca has become another standard English spelling.

Modern Hebrew Rivka, German and Scandinavian Rebekka, and forms such as Rebeka and Spanish Rebeca belong to the same family. The spellings vary while preserving a recognizable central bek sound.

The name became more widely used among English Christians after the Protestant Reformation and was favored by seventeenth-century Puritans. Rebekah's scriptural spelling belongs within that larger history of renewed interest in biblical names.

Rebekah at the well

Genesis 24 introduces Rebekah through a meeting at a well. She is Bethuel’s daughter and Laban’s sister. Abraham has sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac among his relatives. The servant asks for a sign involving a woman who will offer water not only to him but also to his camels.

Rebekah arrives carrying her jar, gives him a drink, and then draws enough water for the animals. The scene presents her through an act of energetic hospitality. Laban welcomes the visitor into the household, where the proposed marriage becomes a matter for the wider family. Rebekah subsequently agrees to leave with the servant.

The journey ends with her meeting Isaac and becoming his wife. This extended story gives Rebekah one of the most memorable introductions of a woman in Genesis, with the well, water jar, and camels providing its recognizable imagery.

Mother of Esau and Jacob

Rebekah later gives birth to twins, Esau and Jacob. Their rivalry becomes central to the family's story. In Genesis 27, she helps Jacob obtain the blessing that Isaac intends to give Esau.

She prepares the food Isaac has requested and directs Jacob in approaching his father. The episode places her within a difficult family conflict involving inheritance, preference, and deception. Her biblical role is therefore more complex than the welcoming young woman first encountered at the well.

Pronunciation and American popularity

Rebekah is pronounced reh-BEK-uh, with three syllables and stress in the middle. Rebecca normally sounds identical in English. Becky and Bekki are familiar short forms in the family; Becca is another established option.

Rebekah reached its strongest United States girls' ranking in 1982, at #143. Its largest annual count came in 1996, with 2,222 births. In 2025 it ranked #884, with 302 girls. The American record shows a substantial late-twentieth-century wave for this biblical spelling.

How popular is Rebekah?

In 2025, Rebekah ranked #884 among girls in the United States, with 302 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1883; its largest annual count was 2,222 in 1996. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.