Yael (Hebrew: יָעֵל, pronounced [jaˈʔel]; also spelled Jael) is a given name of Hebrew origin. It is the name of biblical figure Jael, who saved the Israelites by killing Sisera, commander of the Canaanite king Jabin's army, by hammering a tent peg through his temple while asleep in her tent. The word yael means "Nubian ibex" (Capra nubiana), from a verbal phrase meaning "he goes up".

Yael
GenderFemale
Language(s)Hebrew
Origin
Meaningibex, mountain goat
Region of originNear Eastern
Other names
Alternative spellingIael, Iaël, Jael, Jaël, Yaël, Ιαήλ (Greek)

People with the given name

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Middle name

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Pseudonym

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  • Jaël (born 1979), stage name of Rahel Krebs, Swiss singer/songwriter
  • Ivanka Trump (born 1981), took the Hebrew name Yael after converting to Judaism

Fictional characters

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  • Yael, a woman in ancient Israel who escapes the massacre at Masada, in Alice Hoffman's novel The Dovekeepers (2011)
  • Yael Aronov, in John Sanford's novel Storm Front (2013)
  • Yael "Yaeli" Ashkenazi, in the Netflix Original series When Heroes Fly
  • Yael Baron, in the Netflix Original series Degrassi: Next Class
  • Yael Hoffman, in the TV series Weeds
  • Alice Jael Reasoner, also known as Jael, an assassin in Joanna Russ' novel The Female Man (1975)
  • Yael from "Return to Me" by Lynn Austin

See also

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