Shem Tov Boy's nameOrigin: internationalIn Israel: steady
IyovIn Hebrew: איוב · meaning, pronunciation and popularity in Israel
With vowel points: אִיּוֹבRomanization: iyóv
Iyov (Hebrew: איוב) is a boy's name of international origin. 2,347 people born in Israel between 1949 and 2024 have it today, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). In 2024 it was given to 57 boys and ranked #264. Its peak year was 2019, with 68 babies.
- People in Israel
- 2,347
- born 1949–2024
- Babies in 2024
- 57
- rank #264
- Peak year
- 2019
- 68 babies
- USA
- —
- not in the SSA list
Writing and saying Iyov
In Hebrew letters the name is איוב, read right to left. Iyov is the Latin spelling recorded in Wiktionary; families choose their own spelling in passports, so you may also meet other forms. Wiktionary romanizes it as "iyóv" (the accent marks the stressed syllable).
Meaning and origin
- Job (a book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh)
- Job (a character in the Old Testament and the Qur'an, renowned for his patience)
- Ayoub, a major nabi of Islam
Possibly from early northwest Semitic dialectal name meaning "where is the father?" from אַי (ʾay, “where”) and אוֹבּ (ʾôb, “father”), dialectal variant of אב ('áv, “father”). Or, akin to אויב (oyév, “enemy”). Some biblical scholars have suggested that it is related to Arabic أَوَّاب (ʔawwāb, “returning”), from the root ء و ب (ʔ w b).
Quoted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), unchanged.
Iyov by year in Israel
How many boys out of every 10,000 born each year have the name. For Israel it counts the people born that year who carry the name today (the CBS counts residents by year of birth, not birth registrations).
per 10,000 babies of the same sex
Related Israeli names
Spelling variants and names that look or sound close in Hebrew.
Questions about Iyov
How do you write Iyov in Hebrew?
Iyov is written איוב in Hebrew (with vowel points: אִיּוֹב). Hebrew is read right to left. A dictionary romanization is "iyóv".
How many people in Israel are named Iyov?
2,347 people born between 1949 and 2024 carry the name איוב: 0 women and 2,347 men. The count comes from the CBS table of current first names by year of birth; years with fewer than 5 people are not published.
Is Iyov a boy's or a girl's name?
In Israel it is almost always a boy's name: 100.0% of the people named איוב are men.
What does the name Iyov mean?
English Wiktionary describes it as: "Job (a book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh)" Etymology: Possibly from early northwest Semitic dialectal name meaning "where is the father?" from אַי (ʾay, “where”) and אוֹבּ (ʾôb, “father”), dialectal variant of אב ('áv, “father”). Or, akin to אויב (oyév, “enemy”). Some biblical scholars have suggested that it is related to Arabic أَوَّاب (ʔawwāb, “returning”), from the root ء و ب (ʔ w b).
Sources
Israel: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), current first names of people born 1949–2024 by sex, population group and year of birth, processed 2026-09-27. CBS publications.