Hebrew name: Encyclopedia II - Hebrew name - Names of Hebrew origin

Hebrew name - Names of Hebrew origin

Most Hebrew names used by Jews (along with many Hebrew names used in Christendom) come from the Jewish Tanakh, known by Christians as the Old Testament.

Many of these names are thought to have been adapted from Hebrew phrases and expressions, bestowing special meaning or the unique circumstances of birth to the one who receives that name. An example of a name with a special personal meaning is יהודה Yəhûḏāh. An example of a name indicating circumstances of birth is ראובן Rəʼûḇēn, which means "Look, a son."

Hebrew devotion to Elohim (God) is often indicated by adding the suffix אל -ʼēl/-āʼēl, forming names such as מיכאל Mîḵāʼēl and גבריאל Gaḇrîʼēl.

Hebrew devotion to the one who is represented by the Tetragrammaton is often indicated by adding an abbreviated form of the Tetragrammaton as a suffix; the most common abbreviations used by Jews are יה -yāh/-iyyāh and יהו -yāhû/-iyyāhû/-ayhû, forming names such as ישׁעיהו Yəšaʻªyāhû, צדקיהו Ṣiḏqiyyāhû and שׂריה Śərāyāh. Most of Christendom uses the shorter suffix preferred in translations of the Bible to European languages, primarily Greek -ιας -ias and English -iah, producing names such as Τωβιας Tōbias and Ιερεμιας Ieremias.

In addition to devotion to Elohim and the one represented by the Tetragrammaton, names could also be sentences of praise in their own right. The name טוביהו Ṭôḇiyyāhû means "Good of/is the LORD."

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Names of Hebrew origin", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki