Name of the Day: Shalom? Harlow?

December 5

Actress and model Shalom Harlow was born on December 5, 1973 in Oshawa, Canada. In 1995, Shalom Harlow would become the first model named Vogue’s Model of the Year, and was ranked amongst the top-paid Supermodels of the early 2000s.

With two stunning monikers to choose from, I had to poll my Berries on the forums to decide whether today’s Name of the Day should be Shalom or Harlow.

Shalom it is! 🎉

Shalom

The Hebrew Shalom is both a given name — traditionally masculine — and a common surname in Israel. In the most recent name data from Israel, Shalom was ranked at Number 82 for boys.

Shalom means “peace”, referring to either peace between two entities (typically a person and God) or the well-being and safety of a person. In Israel, Shalom is used as a greeting or farewell, as well as to wish peace upon a person.

In Judaism, shalom is one of the underlying principles of the Torah. This can be seen in lines such as “Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are shalom”. Overall, Shalom carries a serene and harmonious message.

Despite traditionally being used for boys, today Shalom is a striking unisex option thanks to none other than Shalom Harlow herself. In 2022, 89 baby boys and 40 baby girls were given the name Shalom in the US.

Equally beautiful names of the same origin include Salome, Salem, Solomon, and Salim.