Yaffa

Yaffa is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, meaning “beautiful.” It is used among Jewish communities in Israel and the diaspora and can appear in Arab contexts as well. Variants include Yafa and Yafo.

As a place name, Yaffa refers to Yafo (Jaffa), the ancient port city that is now part of the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality in Israel. Known in antiquity as Joppa, it is one of the oldest ports in the eastern Mediterranean. The modern district sits on the coast southwest of Tel Aviv and includes the historic Old City of Jaffa, its harbor, and surrounding quarters.

The city’s long history is reflected in its architecture, markets, and coastal fortifications, and it is associated with the Jaffa orange, a citrus cultivar named after the port. Jaffa figures in biblical, Hellenistic, and Ottoman periods and remains a cultural and tourist center within the metropolitan area.

Notable people named Yaffa include Yaffa Eliach (1927–2018), a Lithuanian-born historian and author known for works such as Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust. The name continues to be used in various communities, sometimes connecting individuals to the heritage and the historical port through its meaning and geography.