Ariel, Tamar, Muhammad and Miriam: These are the first graders and the cities with the most students
180,000 children will enter the school gates for the first time in their lives next week. What are the most common names among first graders, and in which localities is their share of the population the largest? These are the numbers behind the students who are starting a challenging 12-year journey on September 1st.
Where do they come from, what are their most popular names, and how many of them are Haredi? On September 1st, this coming Tuesday, 180,000 students will begin their first-ever lesson at school. These are the numbers behind the first graders of the upcoming school year.
According to data from the Population and Immigration Authority, among the boys in the Jewish sector, the most common names are Ariel, David, and Lavi. Among the girls, the common names are Tamar, Abigail, Adel, and Yael. In the Arab sector, Muhammad, Ahmad, Yusuf, and Adam lead among the boys, and Miriam, Sham, and Lin among the girls. The data also shows that among teachers and kindergarten teachers in the Jewish sector, the prominent names for women are Michal, Rachel, and Yael, and for men, David, Moshe, and Yosef. In the Arab sector, most male teachers are named Muhammad, Ahmad, and Mahmoud, and the female teachers are Iman, Abir, and Manal.
A Cultural Shift
Changes at the top in the Jewish sector indicate a cultural shift occurring in recent years. In the last decade, modern Israeli names that were identified for years with the parents' generation are making room for traditional names, and especially for names from Jewish sources. In contrast, in the Arab sector, the picture is more stable. Muhammad and Ahmad continue to dominate the top of the boys' names, and Miriam stands out among the girls. Those who have lost their place at the top are less traditional names such as Noam, Ori, Guy, Roi, Omer, Lihi, Gili, Tal, and Yuval.
Abigail Fishbein, Tamar Fahima, and Ariel Haim Liebman are entering first grade at the Tidhar school in Afula. "I'm already waiting to meet friends," said Abigail. Ariel was surprised to hear that his name was common and said that his name was chosen by his parents after five names were rejected.
According to Dr. Hanan Yitzhaki, head of the Memory and Heritage program at the Efrata Academic College of Education, the names of first graders in Jewish society illustrate deep processes of change in Israeli society and are now much more traditional. "Both among the boys and the girls, the leading names are connected to Jewish tradition, and first and foremost to biblical names," says Dr. Yitzhaki. About 40% of first-grade students study in the Haredi and state-religious education systems, and only 37% in state education.
Geography Lesson
According to data from the Points company, which specializes in collecting geographic and demographic data, Jerusalem leads in the number of first graders with about 23.5 thousand students, which is 2.2% of Jerusalemites. Far behind it stands Bnei Brak, with 7,200 children (about 2.9% of the residents), and third on the list is Beit Shemesh with about 6.7 thousand children (about 3.4% of the city's residents). Tel Aviv-Yafo reaches only fourth place, with 6,200 students (1.2% of the residents).
Points CEO, Yafit Ben Haim, said: "The gaps between the localities are not expressed only in the number of children, but also in their weight among the local population. Thus, in Jerusalem, the absolute number is the highest, but there are young localities where first graders alone constitute up to 7% of the residents."
