מה השם שלך?

A literal breakdown is:

• מה = what
• השם = the name
• שלך = your

So the sentence is literally something like What [is] the name of yours?, which is how Hebrew expresses What is your name?

Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So where English says:

• What is your name?

Hebrew simply says:

• What your name? / more literally What the name your?

This is completely normal Hebrew grammar.

In this structure, Hebrew normally uses the definite form:

• השם שלך = your name

So מה השם שלך? is the standard way to say it.

If you said מה שם שלך?, it would sound unnatural or incorrect in normal modern Hebrew.

There is also a different, shorter form:

• מה שמך?

That is more formal or literary.

A common pronunciation is:

• ma ha-shem shelkha? — when speaking to a man
• ma ha-shem shelakh? — when speaking to a woman

With vowel marks, that would be:

• מָה הַשֵּׁם שֶׁלְּךָ?
• מָה הַשֵּׁם שֶׁלָּךְ?

In everyday writing, both masculine and feminine are usually written the same way: שלך.

It can be either, depending on pronunciation.

In unpointed Hebrew writing, שלך can mean:

• your to a man
• your to a woman

The difference shows up mainly in speech:

• shelkha = your (to a man)
• shelakh = your (to a woman)

So the written sentence מה השם שלך? can be used for either person, but the spoken form changes.

It is correct and clear, and people do say it. But in everyday spoken Hebrew, a very common alternative is:

• איך קוראים לך?

Literally, that means How do they call you?, but idiomatically it means What is your name?

So:

• מה השם שלך? = correct, direct
• איך קוראים לך? = very common in conversation

Common answers are:

• קוראים לי דן. = My name is Dan. / literally They call me Dan.
• אני דן. = I’m Dan.
• השם שלי דן. = My name is Dan.

All three are understandable, but in everyday speech קוראים לי... and אני... are often more natural than השם שלי...

Yes. Hebrew often shows possession using של, which is similar to of.

For example:

• השם של דני = Danny’s name / the name of Danny
• השם שלך = your name / the name of you

So שלך is basically של + you, meaning your.

Good question. The spelling שם can represent two different words:

• שֵׁם (shem) = name
• שָׁם (sham) = there

In this sentence, it clearly means name, because:

• it has ה in front: השם
• the context is asking about someone’s identity

So here it is pronounced ha-shem, not ha-sham.

The literal order is:

• מה = what
• השם = the name
• שלך = your

So: What the name your?

That sounds odd in English, but it is normal in Hebrew. Hebrew often puts the noun first and the possessive expression after it:

• הבית שלי = my house / literally the house of me
• השם שלך = your name / literally the name of you

So the sentence follows regular Hebrew patterns.

Yes:

• מה שמך?

This means the same thing: What is your name?

It is shorter and more formal, and it can sound literary, official, or old-fashioned in everyday conversation.

So a useful contrast is:

• מה השם שלך? = normal, clear
• מה שמך? = more formal
• איך קוראים לך? = very common in spoken Hebrew