MEANING & HISTORY
What does Rebecca mean?
Rebecca is a Latin-script biblical name continuing Hebrew Rivka. The scholarly medieval-name dictionary connects it with a root for joining or binding.
Other familiar explanations use the image of captivating or ensnaring, which should not simply become a factual claim that the name means beautiful. The historical biblical identity is clear even when the exact nuance of the root is debated. Rebekah and Rebecca are related written forms with different transmission histories.
The name’s narrative associations should remain separate from assumptions about a modern bearer’s appearance.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
The Vulgate (Latin) form of biblical Rebekah, from Hebrew רִבְקָה (Rivka, “enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”).
A female given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew], in regular use since the Reformation.
Wiktionary: Rebecca (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Rebecca
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Rebecca Del Rio
Filipino actress (1929–2010)
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Rebecca Lusterio
Filipino actress
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
14
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
7
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Rebecca Del Rio, Rebecca Lusterio
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Rebecca in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Rebecca
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Rea·Variant of Rhea or short form of Andrea
- Regina♀Queen
- Reina♀Queen in Spanish; pure in a separate Yiddish account
- Rene♂Unaccented form of René; reborn
- René♂Born again; French form of Renatus
- Renee♂♀English spelling of Renée: born again
- Reuben♂See, a son
- Reuel·Friend of God
What rhymes with Rebecca?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Rebecca further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q503607 — Rebecca (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Rebecca Del Rio (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q503607 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Rebecca Lusterio (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q503607 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Rebecca (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources — Rebecca (opens in a new tab)
Hebrew connection, root r-b-q join/couple/tie; preferred over unqualified beauty gloss.