Hello! We are expecting our first baby, a boy, in a few weeks and still have not settled on a first name. The last name sounds like Neg-Ed but starting with an M (the G is hard and it’s 2 syllables). The middle name will be my last name, which sounds like Peench starting with an H. I know that combo doesn’t roll off the tongue, but I really want to use my family name somehow, so the middle name is non-negotiable. I imagine the full name will rarely be said out loud, and the middle name will be reserved for formal occasions like diplomas and passports. Most of the time it will be First name H. Last name. Because our last names are not easy, we prefer classic spellings of all first names.
We have a list of 4 first names at this point: Eli, Gideon, Ori, and Avery. I should mention that we are looking for names that are Jewish/from the Old Testament or are Israeli without being too religious (for example, Isaac is out because in Hebrew it is Yitzak, which is a very old school and religious name). We live in the US and I’m American, but my husband’s family is in Israel. What’s most important is how the name we choose works in the US, though we are trying to consider the Israeli perspective somewhat.
Eli – solid, easy, safe choice. Too popular? Too boring?
Gideon – A lovely name, which is classic but kind of quirky, from the Old Testament, and not too common. Concerns here: too many Gs in the first + last name? In Israel Gideon (Gidon there) is old fashioned. The meaning (warrior) is not great, but he is doing karate in my uterus right now, so maybe it will suit him.
Ori – We both love this name, which is Israeli for “my light.” This is a similar meaning to my first name, which is nice. Our concerns are that it is too foreign sounding, and not obvious if it’s a male or female to most Americans. The combo of Ori with the last name, unless one is familiar with Israeli names, could come across as very foreign and totally unrecognizable.
Avery – Solid American name which we both really like. It’s not biblical, but we would use the Hebrew name Ivri (pronounced Ee-vree) for family in Israel. Ivri means “of the Hebrew”, which is a nod towards his grandfather’s family, who were Hebrew language scholars. Also his grandfather Avi passed away, and Avery could be considered named after him. We prefer not to use his grandfather’s exact name, so Avery is a nice compromise. Our concern here is that Avery is a really popular girl’s name right now!
Gabriel and Ethan are names that made our short list initially, but ultimately we don’t love them. Also don’t love Elijah. Other names that won’t work for us: Jacob, Daniel, Adam, Ben, Jonathan, Elliot (names of our nephews/cousins), David (meh), Jonah (an ex), and Noah (too common). We hope to have 2 kids, but may just have this one. If we had a girl, we would probably have named her Naomi or Nessa (which means miracle in Hebrew).
Thanks in advance for any thoughts on our current choices or new name ideas! We promise to let you know what we choose.
I think Eli is a very nice name. It doesn’t strike me as too popular, or boring.
I also like Gideon very much. It is a lot of G and D with the surname, which is the sort of thing some people would avoid and others would seek out; it’s a matter of how it sounds to you. Do you like the way the repeated sounds hit your ear when you say them aloud, or does it feel like a downside?
I’m interested too to know how Ori strikes other people. I’ve had only one encounter with the name: a girl I went to high school with was named Orianna, and was occasionally called Ori. But I wouldn’t base much on one single exposure to the name, and if I saw Ori on a list I definitely wouldn’t assume girl: I’d be completely uncertain. I have also known a boy named Ari, so I can make an Ari/Ori connection and see it as masculine. I’m also familiar with the name Omri from the book The Indian in the Cupboard; that too could make the name feel natural to me as a boy’s name. And the name looks a little like Ollie, a name I’m familiar with as a nickname for Oliver. But it also looks a little like Lori and Dori and Tori, familiar as girl names. And it makes me think of Cory and Rory, which are both unisex names. In short, the name looks ambiguous to me, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find it belonged to a girl OR to a boy.
You’re right that Avery is a unisex name leaning girl. In 2013, the name was given to 9,121 new baby girls and 2,036 new baby boys. Usage is currently holding fairly steady for boys (#196 in 2013) while rising for girls: #12 in 2013, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in the Top 10 when the 2014 data comes out in May. If you plan to have more children, it is possible that using a unisex-leaning-girl name for a boy could cause sibling-name selection issues.
I notice that three of the four names on your finalist list are vowel-heavy with softer sounds: Eli, Ori, Avery. I don’t know anything about how names sound in Israel or what their Hebrew equivalents are/mean, but that is where I might start if I were looking for more options. Names such as Joel, Seth, Levi, Nathaniel, Paul, Cyrus, Owen, Leo, Oliver.
I think my top favorite option is Eli from your finalist list.
From your list, I really enjoy Eli and Ori. I don’t think that Eli is too popular or boring, and I like Eli much more than Elijah (and Ethan too). I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy Ori; it reminds me of Ollie and seems adorable. It read male to me, but that could be because you previously mentioned in the letter that you’re expecting a son. I THINK I might assume Ori is a boy if I saw the name on paper, but I honestly can’t say for sure.
I don’t enjoy Gideon paired with the last name; as Swistle mentioned, I’m a person who thinks that is too much G and D for my taste. Although I know boys named Avery, it is becoming such a popular girl name that I would hesitate to use it, particularly when you have other great options.
Best of luck to you guys and your little karate guy!
I like your choices, and I think Ori could work fine, might you want to give him the name Orin, and allow Ori as a nickname- just in case Ori leans too girl…
If you want some other options:
Boaz
Isaiah (although would you prefer to use the Hebrew pronunciation? If so that might be a bit stodgy here, ditto on Simon/Shimon)
Samuel
Daniel (I do know it is very popular, but such a lovely life long name.)
Saul
Do you have any relatives that you might like to honor here? If your traditions are anything like mine, only deceased relatives will do, but you could start looking at grandfathers or great grandfathers, maybe focusing on their Hebrew names?
Orin or Orrin would be a great compromise!
Or, actually, Oren which is in fact Hebrew.
Oddly this was a question I had about the use of the name Oren or the name Ori: that is as a Jewish person the name Ori sounds specifically Israeli, but without a clear and distinctive feeling of Jewish. I guess, I would want to be sure that I wanted a name that read Israeli and Jewish rather than a name that reads Jewish, but not necessarily so Israeli.
editing to add: Abraham!
I like Ori and Eli best and wonder if you could just use Ari if you think Ori is too “foreign”? Ari isn’t very common, but you hear it and it did feature on “Entourage” a couple years back. I don’t think Entourage was popular enough so that many people would automatically think “Ari Gold” (I had to google it myself to double check and I watched the show as background noise). Plus Ari can still be considered an honor name for Avi.
Good luck!
I love Ori and Gideon for you. I’d scrap popular & safe Eli and top-ten-for-girls Avery.
Ori is such a beautiful sound with a beautiful meaning. Where I am there is a large Jewish population as well as being very diverse in general. So I think Ori might get misheard as Ari for some people, but overall it would be an easy name to understand, that is just familiar enough, yet uncommon. Since you were open to using Avery to get to Ivri, would you be into choosing a more common name to get to Ori? Like Torin or Soren? I really think you can use Ori as-is but might be an option to consider?
Gideon is one I have heard now and then, it’s definitely more quirky. I don’t mind the full name combo, it’s a non-issue to my ears.
My favorite name from the list is Gideon. I love it with the last name. My second favorite is Eli. I wouldn’t have assumed either gender for Ori, but would have thought Avery was a girl.
I love Naomi for a girl. It works equally well with Gideon or Eli.
I know two people named Ori. A girl I went to school with, short for Oriana (almost exclusively goes by Ori), and a boy I went to college with, Jewish Ori who grew up here but was born in Israel.
I think it fits them both well so to me I wouldn’t think it leans STRONGLY either way.
Although I would not know if an Ori was male or female without further clarification/clues.
I love Ori. I wouldn’t have any worry about sounding foreign but maybe a little with people unsure of his gender. Could you consider Ben- Ori as the first name. I know Ben means “son of” and is common in Isreal but am unsure if Ben-Ori is ok. The Ben part would make the name clearly male to me.
My son is named August with a surname for his middle. According to SS August is exclusively used for males. However people still ask if August is a girl which annoys me mildly. Not enough to pick a new name. I imagine Ori would be the same. But if you are not worried with a few people unsure if Ori is male, go for it.
I also like Asa and Noam.
Gideon is my favorite from your list followed closely by Eli
If I were to throw one of your names out it would be Avery. It’s use for girls has far surpassed boys for my liking.
I can’t tell if I like Gideon or Ori more. As a few others have commented, Ari, is a name that I’ve come across a few times and has always been on a boy. I am with swistle, if I saw Ori, I wouldn’t make any assumptions of whether it is a boy or girl but I would lean more towards boy. I like it. It’s simple and uncommon. I also am a big fan of Gideon. I love the looks of it and how uncommon it is.
You also can’t go wrong with Eli. It is definitely “safer” but there is nothing wrong with that at all. I like that you have decided on just Eli (not Elijah). Makes it feel younger and fresher.
Good luck and keep us posted!
I think you should take Avery out of the running, girls have seemed to take over the name. I like Ori, and I think if I came across it, I would assume boy. I think Ari could be a good alternative if you are still unsure about the name. From most to least favorite from the remaining 3 would be:
Eli (I don’t think it is too popular, I know a few Elijah’s but no Eli)
Ori/Ari
Gideon
I have a friend with a little boy named Elias and he goes by Eli. I think that’s adorable!
I like Gideon best from the list. I think it sounds fine with the surname. How about Aaron as a namesake for Avi?
In case it would annoy you, the name Ori reminds me strongly of the dwarf in The Hobbit.
I really like Ori, though I’d maybe compromise and put Oren on the birth certificate if I was concerned about the foreign/gender thing. In reality I wouldn’t be concerned about that though. (But I live in an area with a large Jewish and Israeli population, so I know Ori can be a male name.)
I agree that Avery is the one to axe from the list. It’s mostly used by girls now, and it just does have the same ancient, mellow vibe as your other choices. It feels much more trendy.
It’s too bad Avi is out because that is such a lovely one. Unfortunately Avery, I feel, really doesn’t do it justice, nor does it sound great with the surname. (No offense to parents of Averys out there– I’m just talking about this particularly context).
Is Noam too common for you as well? I know 2 Americans (1 who isn’t even Jewish!) with this name. I like it more than Noah.
I like it too, but Noam would run into their last name, which starts with an M. Many people would be likely to hear Noah [last name] instead of Noam [last name] — which may not be a problem, per se, but something to be aware of and consider carefully. Personally, it would drive me nuts to have to spell that out for people all the time or to have to make the conscious break when pronouncing both names together out loud.
My kids grew up with a boy named Ori, and I was never aware of any issues about gender or mispronunciation. Great name! Gideon also is nice and sounds fine with your surname. Eli is slightly less quirky and interesting than these 2 names, but still far from boring. You have a good list of possibilities!
I think you have beautiful reasons for using Avery. If I were in your son’s position, those reasons would far outweigh the inconvenience of sometimes being mistaken for female. However, consider whether you want to hold this in reserve for a possible future girl.
Another possibility is
Gavin,
Travis,
Xavier
(all containing Avi).
I would assume Ori is short for Orion.
I think Gideon and Eli are fine names.
I just reread the post and realized you like Nessa and Naomi for a girl, so no need to save Avery!
Ooh! Ivan would be like Avi backwards.
I like Eli, Levi, and Simon, coincideny, all names my Israeli relatives have. Ori doesn’t work for me, but only because I loved the show Stargate and the Ori were a race of villains. That’s probably not something many people would notice, though.
I like all the names on your list, probably in this order:
Ori
Avery
Eli
Gideon
Have you considered Ari? Avery and Ori remind me of it and it.
I really like Ori for you, and it doesn’t strike me as feminine (though I am familiar with the name). I suspect Swistle is right in her guess that it will strike a lot of people as unisex.
I don’t think Gideon is too much G or D. The rhythm and other sounds in the last name are different enough that it doesn’t seem repetitive or anything. Gideon is probably my favorite from your list (with Ori a close second).
Avery is very girl to me. However, it is technically unisex in use so I don’t see a problem with it on a boy.
Eli is nice, I do like the name. But it does seem a bit boring next to your other choices.
Have you considered Ilan? It’s pretty easy for Americans and it has a nice meaning. There may be some confusion over the sound of the first letter, but I think the name Ian will help explain any questions.
Ilan is great. I know a lady online who lives in Israel. I think her family is American and her husband’s family is British. They have a son named Ilan. Though it sounds like EIan? Apparently I’ve been reading that one wrong too!
I also love Avi, but understand not using the exact name. I love Ori from your list and wouldn’t worry about foreign-ness. I also like Levi. And, in a totally different direction, Tal (my Israeli friend from college). Maybe Tal reads different in in Israel than here but I think Tal Neged is so cute. Also, there’s a little boy at my daughter’s school is Eitan. Love his name, and so does everyone else. And it is akin looks wise to the popular Ethan here so I think the “foreignness” is diminished. Can’t wait for an update!
I like Ori a lot. If I saw it written down, my first guess would be boy but I wouldn’t be surprised to find it was a girl. I think it leans “boy” to me because I know a couple of little boys named Orion. It is unfamiliar to me, but easy to pronounce and spell, so it wouldn’t strike me as inaccessible or weird. (How diverse your area is makes a big difference here; even if there’s not a big Jewish or Israeli population in your area, if there are Xaviers and Imanis and Renatas in your child’s classroom, Ori isn’t going to stand out the way he will if most names are like Jacob and Emma.)
I really love the family connection to Avery, and the unisex thing doesn’t bother me. (Why is it cool and edgy to give a girl a previously masculine name, but not ok to use that previously and sill masculine name for a boy once it’s actually unisex? Annoys me.)
My other favoritr is Gideon – I like the rhythm of it.
While I agree that the masculine/feminine crossover disparity is annoying, I wouldn’t use my sons name to make a sociopolitical point. He may be a strong, confident individual who couldn’t care less if he has the same name as girls in his class/school (with Avery being near the top 10 for girls, it is likely). But he may also be someone who will hate being teased about having a “girls” name despite the family connections. I would not take that chance. My feeling is if you wouldn’t name a sone Olivia, Isabelle or Sophia right now, it is probably not a good idea to name a son Avery.
Chiming in as an American-Israeli- those are all lovely names, though I think Avery reads very girl. Ori and Eli are my favorites from your list, but I don’t know if you’re planning to accent the first or second syllable of Ori. If you go with the Israeli pronunciation and the accent is on the second syllable, my favorite is Ori. If not, then Eli. There are some names that just sound funny to me with an American pronunciation, what can I say!
Throwing out another name, what about Gilad? Good luck deciding, and mazal tov!
My daughter has a friend Ori in her (diverse, Silicon Valley) preschool class. It wears well on a toddler. No pronounciation issues. Very cute. It’s my favorite of your list.
It looks to me like you can divide your names into two categories…names with that overlap in usage between the United States and Israel (Eli, Avery, Gabriel, Ethan, Naomi, Nessa) and names that are more exclusively Jewish American or Israeli (Ori). The fact that Ori is alone its category makes me wonder if its an outlier for you.
I think Eli would be a great choice…there’s nothing wrong with a “safe” choice, especially since you’re already worried about your last name being difficult. I also like someone’s suggestion of Simon above…although I’ll admit I have absolutely no ear for what kind of names would work well with an Israeli family.
I love Ori I used to know a very nice old man with that name and have a friend with a toddler also with the name. It seems to work well on all ages. I like Oren with Ori as a nn as well. I would also suggest Asa (Hebrew for Healer). Another name idea is Gilead (Gil for short!). As others mentioned Ari is always a great choice. Congrats and please let us know what you decide:)
I like Ori. It rang a bell and then I remembered that it’s the name of a boy in a book series that I was reading to my son: http://www.carolineaddersonkids.com/books/jasper-john-dooley-star-of-the-week/ I think the series is Canadian and I hadn’t heard the name Ori before. But the more I read the book, the more I liked it. Though I wonder if I’m pronouncing it correctly. I was saying “Or-ee”. Or is it more like “Or-I” like Eli? I probably was saying it wrong. :/
Before I saw that you discussed Avi I wanted to suggest that. I know someone by that name and think it’s wonderful (though I am not Jewish). I also like Eitan. I do also think Gideon is a nice, underused name.
Do you like Seth? It’s classic, OT biblical, familiar (but not popular), and would be solid with your surname.
Best wishes!
What about Asher or Joel? Both sound great with your surname.
Particularly like the sound of Asher Neged.
I love Eli from your list and Ari is a good suggestion too.
All the best!
From your list I like Ori. I would also like to suggest the name Lior (lee-OR), a Hebrew name meaning “I have light.” A Jewish American friend just named her son Lior and, while it wasn’t a name I had heard before, I found it charming.
What about Ezra, Levi or Samuel.
Of your choices I do love Eli followed by Ori
I think Eli is an excellent choice. I also like Ori and don’t think it has as strong a female connection.
I do like softer sounding names with your last name … Asher, Saul, Seth, Levi, and Arlo.
Reuben perhaps?
We are also an Israeli/American family so I really enjoyed your post. All of your options are very nice. From what you said I would place them in this order:
Avery/Ivri: because you really like it, it sounds “native” in both countries, and because of the family significance.
Ori: because you love it and the great meaning, and it’s in style in Israel and I think would work well in the US. The combination with your last name does sound very Israeli/Israeli-American to me. I am not sure how it would sound to someone unfamiliar with Israeli names.
Gideon: this I like a lot in English, but as you said, it is less in style in Israel. I like alliteration so I think it sounds great with your last name.
Eli: I like it too, but put it last because you seem less enthusiastic about it. We made a very “safe” choice for our daughter’s name (Maya) but we truly loved it so that overcame our concerns about boringness.
You have probably considered most of these names (and some have been suggested already), but here are a few from our family/list: Adar, Alon, Eitan, Eyal, Gilad, Ilan, Lior, Itai, Oren, Omer
As an Eli, I don’t think the name is boring at all! One issue though might be the different pronunciations (ee-lie in the US, ell-ee in Israel). If you’re planning on having more kids, Eli and Naomi makes a good sib-set.
I like Ori. I’d also suggest Ari – it does tend to skew female in the US, but I know several American Jewish male Ari’s.
Gideon Meged is also too much G/D for me.
What about Joel/Yoel? Or Judah?
As an alternative I think Lior is lovely. I think it fits well cross culturally. There is a wonderful Australian singer-songwriter with this name (goes by simply “Lior”) and it works really well.
I love Gideon! I’m secretly rooting for it, even with the repeating sounds. If they bother you though then I also like Eli from your list.
Some alternatives:
Ezra
Jonah
Samson
Silas (love this one)
arlo