Meaning: Its source is Rivka, a Hebrew name meaning "To bind."

Popularity: The name Reba ranked 531st in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name has fluctuated in use, it has been quietly present throughout the last century.

Narrative: The dispute over the meaning of this ancient name revolves around competing images associated with the management of livestock: ''manger,'' ''noose'' and ''cord.''

In the Jewish scriptures, Rebecca is a character known for her beauty and cunning. Abraham, the Patriarch of the Jews, obtains her hand for his son Isaac. She is embroiled in the conflict between her twin boys Esau and Jacob, and encourages Jacob (her favorite) to deceive his father and steal his brother's birthright.

Rebecca and its nickname Becky have been a steady presence in literature for a number of centuries. For example, the tortured title character of the Daphne Du Maurier novel Rebecca (turned into a film by Alfred Hitchock in 1940) created darkly romantic associations for the name.