A Hebrew biblical name meaning "God is my strength."
Uzziel (עֻזִּיאֵל) is a resonant biblical Hebrew name built from two powerful components: oz (עֹז), meaning strength or might, and El (אֵל), the ancient Semitic word for God. Together they form the declaration "God is my strength" or "my strength is God" — a name that is essentially a creed, an affirmation of divine source in every utterance. This theophoric structure, combining a quality with El, is characteristic of the oldest stratum of Hebrew naming and appears throughout the patriarchal narratives.
In the Hebrew Bible, Uzziel appears as a grandson of Levi, son of Kohath, making him a figure of Levitical priestly lineage (Exodus 6:18). The Uzzielites were a recognized clan within the tribe of Levi, entrusted with sacred duties in the wilderness tabernacle. The name recurs across several biblical figures, reinforcing its standing as a serious and venerable choice within the Israelite tradition.
In Sephardic Jewish communities — those descended from Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 — Uzziel remained in active use across the centuries; the seventeenth-century Sephardic rabbi Isaac Uzziel of Amsterdam was a significant figure whose student Manasseh ben Israel would later appeal to Cromwell for Jewish readmission to England. In contemporary naming, Uzziel has found renewed interest across Latin American communities, particularly in evangelical Christian and Messianic Jewish circles where biblical names carry particular devotional weight. Its rarity is part of its appeal: it is unmistakably ancient, carries obvious meaning, and yet sounds neither archaic nor difficult to wear in daily life. The nickname Uzzi offers an immediate shorthand that is friendly and approachable.