Hebrew name meaning praise or song of praise.
Tehilla (תְּהִלָּה) is a Hebrew name of exquisite religious resonance, derived from the root h-l-l, meaning 'to praise' or 'to shine forth.' Its direct meaning is 'praise,' 'song of praise,' or 'glory,' and it is linguistically the source of one of the most famous words in religious history: hallelujah (הַלְלוּיָהּ), which means 'praise God.' To name a child Tehilla is to give her a name that is itself a form of worship — she is, etymologically, a living act of praise.
The word tehillah appears throughout the Hebrew Bible, most prolifically in the Psalms, which are called Tehillim (תְּהִלִּים) — literally 'songs of praise' — in Hebrew. The final Psalm, 150, is a concentrated cascade of the root, calling everything with breath to praise God. In Jewish liturgy, Tehillim are recited daily, and the word tehillah echoes through prayers and blessings in a way that gives the name an unusually dense liturgical texture.
A child named Tehilla is wrapped in centuries of communal prayer. As a given name, Tehilla is predominantly used in Israel and in Orthodox and traditional Jewish communities in the diaspora. It has gained notice in broader circles in recent decades as parents seek Hebrew names that feel simultaneously ancient and fresh — names that haven't been overused outside their original communities.
Tehilla has a lovely sound: four distinct syllables ending in the soft -ah landing that has broad cross-cultural appeal, combined with the double-l that gives it a melodic bounce. It is a name that means joy and sounds like it.