Hebrew name meaning 'my light' or 'my flame,' borne by a biblical figure in Exodus.
Uri is a compact but luminous Hebrew name meaning 'my light' or 'my flame,' derived from the root ur, meaning light or fire. In the Hebrew Bible, Uri appears as the father of Bezalel — the master craftsman chosen by God to design and build the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary the Israelites carried through the desert. That lineage gives Uri an association with artistry, divine inspiration, and skilled handiwork that stretches back to the foundational texts of Abrahamic religion.
The name also appears in the Old Testament as the name of one of Solomon's district governors, suggesting both spiritual and administrative dignity. Uri has remained a living first name in Hebrew-speaking communities continuously since antiquity, and in modern Israel it is a common and straightforward given name — unpretentious, rooted, and clearly Israeli in character. Uri Avnery, the Israeli journalist and peace activist who lived to 94 and wrote prolifically into his final years, is one of its notable contemporary bearers.
Uri Geller, the Israeli-British illusionist famous for his claimed psychokinetic abilities and spoon-bending demonstrations in the 1970s, brought the name briefly into global popular consciousness, though the associations are more eccentric than the name itself. Outside Israel, Uri is used in Jewish communities worldwide and has attracted attention from non-Jewish parents seeking short, strong, international names. Its two letters of pronunciation give it an appealing directness — it sounds ancient without sounding archaic, and its meaning, 'my light,' carries an emotional warmth that few names can match for sheer simplicity.