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Avital

Dew, the symbolic meaning of the name.
Language(s)	Hebrew
Origin
Meaning	my father is dew, dewy

Avital (Hebrew: אֲבִיטַל ’Ăḇîṭāl) is a Hebrew given name of Old Testament origin. Traditionally a female given name, its modern usage is unisex.

Avital is also used as a surname.

Etymology

"Abital" translates to dewy (as in, morning dew) or my father is dew (Ab-i means "my father"; -i is possessive pronoun for "my").

The name refers to dew, the phenomenon of water droplets that occur on exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation.

William Dwight Whitney's Century Dictionary of 1889 defines "avital" as "pertaining to a grandfather; ancestral", giving its root as the Latin avus, lit. 'grandfather'. It is used thus in 1889 by Hubert Lewis's The Ancient Laws of Wales.

Place name

The surname could potentially be a place name for the Avital moshav in Israel, named in 1953.

Alternatively, Mount Avital/Tall Abu an Nada (Hebrew: הר אביטל, Har Avital, Arabic: تل أبو الندى, Tall Abu an Nada) is a mountain that is part of a dormant volcano in the Golan Heights. It does not appear to have any correlation with the Avital moshav, being over an hour's drive away.

Biblical character

The name was popularized by minor biblical character Abital, who is mentioned in the book of Samuel as one of King David's wives (II Samuel 3:4).

Abital gave birth to David's fifth son, Shephatiah, another minor biblical character.

People

As given name (female)

• Avital Sharansky, a Ukrainian activist and public figure in the Soviet Jewry Movement.
• Avital Ronell, an American professor.
• Avital Leibovich, director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Israel.
• Avital Abergel, an Israeli actress.

As given name (male)

• Avital Boruchovsky, an Israeli chess player.
• Avital Inbar, an Israeli author.
• Avital Selinger, an Israeli volleyball player.
• Avital Tamir, an Israeli musician.

As surname

• Mili Avital, an Israeli actress, writer, and director.
• Shay Avital, Major General (Ret.) in the IDF and former head of the Special Operations Forces Command.
• Omer Avital, an Israeli-American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader.
• Avi Avital, an Israeli mandolinist.
• Tsion Avital, an Israeli philosopher of art and culture.
• Eden Avital, an Israeli footballer.
• Colette Avital, a Romanian-Israeli diplomat and politician.
• Doron Avital, an Israeli politician.
• Shmuel Avital, an Israeli politician.

References

1. Hubbard, Rob (9 March 2016). "Avi Avital and his mandolin bring the world to Minneapolis". Twin Cities. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
2. Davis, Barry. "Avital's bass flow". The Jerusalem Post. Jpost Inc. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
3. "Tamir Avital - Men's Water Polo". University of California Golden Bears Athletics. Cal Athletics. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
4. Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford paperback reference. Oxford University Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
5. "Abital". Retrieved 2013-06-27.
6. The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language. A - Cono. T. Fisher Unwin, the Century Company. 1889.
7. Lewis, Hubert (1889). The Ancient Laws of Wales: Viewed Especially in Regard to the Light They Throw Upon the Origin of Some English Institutions. E. Stock. pp. 417, 418, 437, and 438.
8. Bitan, Hanna: 1948-1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel, Jerusalem 1999, Carta, p. 1, ISBN 965-220-423-4
9. South Lebanon and Vicinity 1976
10. Golan Heights and vicinity 1994
11. "Mount Avital to Avital". Mount Avital to Avital. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
12. 2 Samuel 3:4
13. "Abital (fl. 1000 BCE)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Gale Research Inc. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2013.(subscription required)

• Given names
• Surnames
• Hebrew-language given names
• Hebrew unisex given names
• Hebrew feminine given names
• Feminine given names
• Hebrew masculine given names
• Masculine given names