Rebecca

English edit

Alternative forms edit

Rebekah, Rebekka

Etymology edit

The Vulgate (Latin) form of biblical Rebekah, from Hebrew רִבְקָה (Rivka, “enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”).

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈbɛkə/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛkə

Proper noun edit

Rebecca (plural Rebeccas)

A female given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew], in regular use since the Reformation.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 9:10-12:
  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
- 1809, Charles and Mary Lamb, Poetry for Children: Choosing a Name:
  They would say, if 'twas Rebecca,
  That she is a little Quaker.
- 1949, Henry Miller, Sexus (The Rosy Crucifixion), Grove Press, published 1965, →ISBN, page 312:
  "What's her name?" I asked. "Rebecca. Rebecca Valentine." The name Rebecca excited me. I had always wanted to meet a woman called Rebecca—and not Becky. (Rebecca, Ruth, Roxane, Rosalind, Frederika, Ursula, Sheila, Norma, Guinevere, Leonora, Sabina, Malvina, Solange, Deirdre. What wonderful names women had! Like flowers, stars, constellations…)
- 1997, Robert T. Tauber, Self-fulfilling Prophecy, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 61:
  Our daughter's name, Rebecca, summons up similar visions. Although our family is not Jewish, both names (David and Rebecca) have a Hebrew ancestry which, in the eyes of many beholders ( i.e. teachers ) invokes a vision of a family that values education.

Usage notes edit

The spelling Rebecca originates from the Latin Vulgate, which from the 4th century onward was the Bible that was used for centuries in Western Christianity. When the King James Version appeared in 1611, the spelling Rebekah was used in the Old Testament, but the spelling Rebecca was retained in the New Testament.

Derived terms edit

Becky, Becca, Reba, Bex, Bec (pet forms)
Rebecca purple

Translations edit

female given name

Arabic: رِفْقَة (rifqa)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 麗貝卡／丽贝卡 (Lìbèikǎ)
Danish: Rebecca
Finnish: Rebekka (fi)
French: Rebecca (fr)
German: Rebekka (de)
Greek: Ρεβέκκα (el) (Revékka)
Ancient Greek: Ῥεβέκκα (Rhebékka)
Greenlandic: Lippikka
Hawaiian: Lepeka
Hebrew: רִבְקָה (he) f (Rivka)
Hungarian: Rebeka (hu)
Italian: Rebecca (it)
Japanese: レベッカ (Rebekka)
Maori: Rīpeka
Marathi: रेबेका f (rebekā), रेबेक्का f (rebekkā)
Norwegian: Rebekka (no)
Persian: ربه‌کا (rebe-kâ)
Polish: Rebeka (pl) f
Portuguese: Rebeca (pt) f
Russian: Реве́кка f (Revékka), Ребе́кка (ru) f (Rebɛ́kka)
Spanish: Rebeca (es)
Swedish: Rebecka (sv)
Yiddish: רבֿקה f (Rivke)

Noun edit

Rebecca (plural Rebeccas)

(historical) One who protested in the Rebecca Riots; a Rebeccaite.
- 2019, Marsha R. Robinson, Disobedient Histories in Ancient and Modern Times, page 82:
  Colonel George Rice Trevor testified that the Rebeccas attacked poor-houses as well as tollgates.