Shem Tov UnisexOrigin: HebrewIn Israel: falling
ShakhafIn Hebrew: שחף · meaning, pronunciation and popularity in Israel
With vowel points: שַׁחַףRomanization: shákhaf
Shakhaf (Hebrew: שחף) is a unisex name of Hebrew origin. 3,238 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 14 boys and ranked #567. Its peak year was 1998, with 147 babies.
- People in Israel
- 3,238
- born 1949–2024
- Babies in 2024
- 14
- rank #567
- Peak year
- 1998
- 147 babies
- USA
- —
- not in the SSA list
Writing and saying Shakhaf
In Hebrew letters the name is שחף, read right to left. Shakhaf 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 "shákhaf" (the accent marks the stressed syllable).
Meaning and origin
- a unisex given name, Shahaf and Shachaf
- a surname
Uncertain. Identification based on the renderings of the Septuagint λάρος (láros) and the Vulgate larus.
Quoted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), unchanged.
Shakhaf 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 Shakhaf
How do you write Shakhaf in Hebrew?
Shakhaf is written שחף in Hebrew (with vowel points: שַׁחַף). Hebrew is read right to left. A dictionary romanization is "shákhaf".
How many people in Israel are named Shakhaf?
3,238 people born between 1949 and 2024 carry the name שחף: 1,592 women and 1,646 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 Shakhaf a boy's or a girl's name?
Both. In Israel 49% of the people named שחף are women and 51% are men, so we count it as unisex (our threshold: at least 20% of the less common sex).
What does the name Shakhaf mean?
English Wiktionary describes it as: "a unisex given name, Shahaf and Shachaf" Etymology: Uncertain. Identification based on the renderings of the Septuagint λάρος (láros) and the Vulgate larus.
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.