Entry № 7211 · Hebrew origin

Naomi Naomi — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ nay-OH-mee /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Hebrew
Meaning
"Pleasantness"
Syllables
2
First recorded
Ancient (Hebrew Bible)

A name that means "pleasantness".

Naomi comes from the Hebrew Noʿomī (נָעֳמִי), meaning "pleasantness" or "sweetness" — derived from the root n-ʿ-m. In the Book of Ruth, Naomi is the mother-in-law of Ruth and grandmother of Obed (great-grandfather of King David). After tragedy, she asks to be called Mara ("bitter") instead of Naomi — but the original name is the one history remembers.

Naomi has been continuously used in Jewish communities for millennia and entered widespread Christian use through Puritan influence in the seventeenth century. Today it sits in the U.S. top 75 and is one of the most beloved biblical names that has not become tired through overuse.

Pleasantness — a Hebrew name.

The name in its native script.

נָעֳמִי
Transliteration
Noʿomī
Pronunciation
/ neɪˈoʊ.mi /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Naomi stands.

Naomi does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.

Naomis before her.

Real people
Naomi Campbell
British model. One of the most successful supermodels of the 1990s.
born 1970
Naomi Osaka
Japanese-Haitian tennis player. Four-time Grand Slam champion.
born 1997
Naomi Watts
British-Australian actress.
born 1968
In fiction
Naomi
Mother-in-law of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible.
Book of Ruth

Names connected to Naomi.

The number behind Naomi.

7

The Seeker

In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Naomi reduce to 7, The Seeker. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.