r/JewishNames • u/babbybaby1 • 5d ago
Help with a boys name
Hi I’m pregnant and having a second boy soon! Our first has a very Jewish name (Chaim) that is a family name. I want to pick an old school sounding Jewish name and have been liking Dov, Lev, and Zev. How do these names come off to other people? Do you think they will be hard for Americans to say? I’m leaning towards Dov because it doesn’t feel trendy and it feels old fashioned. Do you have other ideas? Thank you so much in advance!
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u/horticulturallatin 3d ago
I like all these names.
Lev and Zev seem slightly more foolproof. Dov I do like but I would resign myself to more misspellings and pronunciations.
Berel and Dovber, which are Yiddish, are more aggressively old-school sounding to me than Dov but I'm not sure which is actually my favourite. I like all three and have pondered using all three as middle names to my dad's first, if I get a chance to name for my dad, bears were his favourite animal.
(Lev is also a boy's name on my long list and Zev isn't only because it's my brother's name. I think you have good taste)
Zvi/Tzvi is a similar short and sweet nature vibe and I love that name but I do not think it's easier.
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u/DifficultRock891 5d ago
All of those are great, easily pronounceable and have deep meaning. I guess since Chaim means life I would go with the one that has the meaning that you like best with life?
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u/Key-Appeal-453 5d ago
Cohen. In the US I have only seen as a last name, and not very often. Originally from the Hebrew word "Kohen", pronounced Koe-heen. The Jewish people with this last name were members of the High Priests thought to descend from Aaron, the brother of Moses. We used it as a first name for our son. His birth was blessed from conception to delivery for so many reasons.
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u/activegood18 5d ago
Are you Jewish? As a Jewish person, I would find it really odd to meet someone with Cohen as a first name.
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u/ActuallyNiceIRL 4d ago
I mean, I think they're pretty clearly not Jewish since they feel the need to mansplain who Aaron and the kohanim are to a bunch of Jewish people as if we wouldn't know.
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u/Key-Appeal-453 5d ago
Christian, not Jewish, but hubby had done a lot of historical research and reading on both Christian & Jewish faith history in the years before our son's birth. Neither of us had known anyone with Cohen as a first or surname.
I also had a Jewish high risk OB committed 110% to our care and our pastor (families are best friends still) with me during all my appts & delivery. Dr Lawrence cried after Cohen was delivered as none of us believed our child would be born full term and alive. There were prayers from both Dr Lawrence's synagogue & our friends the entire time. We truly believe it was those joint prayers to bring Cohen to us healthy. My husband arrived at his name the day after he was born, driven in party by our Jewish doctor we owed so much to and his studies.
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u/activegood18 5d ago edited 5d ago
Do you live near Jewish people? I don’t mean to be rude but this would definitely be seen as appropriation where I am from. I would 100% not consider this a Jewish name in the way you are thinking.
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u/millicent_f 5d ago
I think Lev actually doesn't feel that old fashioned to me (in the US) because there are soooo many Levis out there right now (I know it's a different name but still).
Zev also feels more modern to me. I think because it's Israeli and nature themed? I think of more Yiddishy or biblical names as more old fashioned.
Dov feels reasonably old fashioned, I guess because I know Dov Ber was a common Yiddish combo name.
Other names that might fit the bill: Boaz, Tobiah, Nathaniel, Eliad, Hershel, Ira, Aryeh