Hillel
/hɪˈlɛl/noun
A Hebrew masculine name, most famously associated with Hillel the Elder, a leading Jewish sage of the first century BCE and CE.
Did you know?Hillel the Elder became associated with a famous teaching of radical empathy: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*hll
“To praise or celebrate; a reconstructed Semitic verbal root”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
הִלֵּל (hillēl)
“He praised or caused praise, from the root הלל”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
הַלֵּל (hallel)
“Praise; a form of the same root used in liturgical language”
1st Century BCE–1st Century CE
Hebrew
Hillel
“The personal name of Hillel the Elder, the renowned Jewish sage and head of a major school of interpretation”
Medieval Hebrew and Jewish usage
Hebrew
Hillel
“A continuing personal name commemorating the sage and carrying the sense of praise”
Modern English
English
Hillel
“A Hebrew given name and a name used by Jewish educational and cultural organizations”
Explore more surprising origins