Noomi (נֹעֳמִי) is the Hebrew name of Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth. The name derives from the root naem (pleasantness, pleasantness) and means 'my delight' or 'pleasant one.' Naomi's story is the story of a name lost and restored — she renames herself Mara (bitter) in Ruth 1:20, but her journey ends in joy when she nurses Ruth's son Obed.
Naomi's arc is one of the most moving in Scripture — a theology of providence hidden in ordinary grief. She loses husband and sons in Moab, returns to Bethlehem empty and bitter, renames herself Mara. Yet her very bitterness drives her toward the kindness of Boaz and the loyalty of Ruth. In Ruth 4:14–17, the women of Bethlehem say: 'Naomi has a son!' — the child born to Ruth through Boaz. Her emptiness is filled. Her name is restored. God is the author of reversals — the bitter become pleasant, the empty become full, the exiled come home. Obed would be the grandfather of King David, the ancestor of Christ.