Hi Swistle,
Long-time reader excited to get your input!We are expecting a baby boy shortly who will be joining sister N0a Vi0let and brother Levi J@mes. We have a strong preference for Hebrew names and a general preference for shorter names given that he will sport a double-barreled last name (similar to Burklee Stirring). I tend to like less common names that are still approachable – i.e. easy to read/pronounce correctly. My husband favors more mainstream names, but has been surprisingly open-minded this time around (third child perk?).
Our top contenders are Amos, Elon, and Shai.
I love Amos though my husband is having trouble seeing it as anything but a 18th century Puritan.
We both love the sound of Elon but really don’t want the association with Elon Musk – given how rare the name is and how unpredictable he is as a public personality, it feels like a big risk. We feel like the association wouldn’t be as strong with an alternative spelling of the name (Elan, Ilan, Ilon), but worry that it wouldn’t be pronounced the same way – we like the long vowel and emphasis on the first syllable. Also wondering if the pairing with Levi is tongue-twister-y?
Shai (pronounced shy) is a longtime favorite that’s always in the mix, but we have reservations about using it given a relative with the same name (a mix of superstition and not wanting it to seem like an honor name when it’s not).
Middle name will be a family honor name (TBD) and if this baby was a girl, top contenders would be Ruth (called Rue) and Adele.
Would love your thoughts on all three names as well as any other suggestions.
Thank you!
I reluctantly agree with your assessment of Elon. It is too bad when someone with a very distinctive name also rises to uncertain-future fame/celebrity.
And I also reluctantly agree with your assessment of Shai. I do think it would seem like an honor name. I also see pronunciation/spelling issues, not at a deal-breaking level but not insignificant either.
I am not familiar with Hebrew names, and so I am hoping commenters will be able to help with more suggestions!
Name update:
Hi Swistle,
We’ve got a two-for-one name update! We loved going through the comments and suggestions on your post and came to the same conclusion as you and many readers – Amos is a fabulous name and Elon and Shai just didn’t work for us. Amos Sylv@n was born in late July and his name’s meaning of “carried by God” had special significance given that he was born via a surrogate (pretty much the closest we get to angels on earth!).The story’s twist came a couple weeks after I wrote to you when I discovered that against all odds, I too was pregnant. So last week, we welcomed another baby boy, less than three months apart from “big” brother Amos. We started with a blank slate for names having ruled Elon and Shai out – every single one we considered came from the comments section of your post! We landed on Samuel M@yer and are so excited to welcome him to the family.
Thank you to you and your thoughtful community of name sages!
Rachel
A vote here for Moses!! Our third is Moses (sometimes called “Mo”). This is not a common name in the part of the country we live in, but I know that Moses and its variation can be quite common in other areas of the country. Love Amos as well!
I am not really familiar with Hebrew names but I LOVE Amos. And I think once he arrives, he will become Amos so your husband might quickly lose that prior nagging association. What about Abel?
How about Eben or Asher? Both are Hebrew– Eben means “stone” and Asher “happy, blessed.”
Erez is a Hebrew name I recently encountered that I think is so charming and strong – it means cedar. Noa, Levi, and Erez. ❤ I also like Boaz with your sibset, though Boaz and Noa are maybe too similar.
I think Shai and Elon have issues with unpredictable celebrities being most people’s first association with the name. I follow someone on Instagram with an Amos and it’s made the name Amos a lot more assessable for me. Maybe start buying Famous Amos cookies and leaving them around for your husband. ♥️
As far as suggestions go, would you consider Ira? That’s a name that sounds calming and thoughtful to me (probably because of Ira Glass) and it means “watchful” which is lovely.
Ari or Oren!
I love Amos, but came to suggest Ebon. Unusual, approachable, Hebrew. Ebon is similar to Elon without the baggage. Noa, Levi, Ebon. Oren is another name that might work for you.
I teach in a Jewish school; there are so many amazing, short Hebrew names!! Here are some of my favorites as suggestions for you, in alphabetical order:
Ari, Asa, Aviv, Ben, Eitan, Eli, Ephraim, Erez, Ezra, Ira, Isaac, Meir, Omri, Seth, Zev
I love this sibset! The first names are both Hebrew and heavy on vowel sounds and the middles are so classic and elegant! It’s just adorable how these names go together so well.
For a brother, maybe Asher, Ruben, Ezra or Micah. Zion could work sound-wise, but maybe it’s too much.
My favorite: Enoch. Noa, Levi and Enoch.
Moses!
(Also yes regrettably I would say Elon is Not Worth It right now)
While I’d probably go with a different name altogether (likely Ilon if you want the first sounds to be EE), is the case for choosing a different spelling helped at all knowing that outside of the Musk context, I wouldn’t say Elon with the long vowel or emphasis on the first syllable? To me, Elon is eh-LON, with “Lon” not said like lawn, but with a Hebrew vowel that I can’t figure out how to write in English.
Do you mean pronounced like loan?
Nope! Not short like not nor long like note, but somewhere between. I’d write it like Elohn, but that makes it look like it should sound like John, which it doesn’t.
Oh! I mean like this: https://forvo.com/search/elon/tly/
(I think) I agree with Kaye– Elon Musk’s pronunciation of “EE-lawn” is definitely not in line with standard Hebrew-to-English pronunciations.
Ilan is “ih-LAHN”
(that’s why the female version is Ilana– “ih–LAH-nah” for kiddos born around Tu BiShvat)
Elon is “eh-LOHN”– Sandy, the “loan” sound is pretty close, IME!
I babysat for a Jewish family with a son named Etai. Same starting letter and length as Elon. I like it for you!
I’m very much a nonpracticing Jew but have a lot of more religious friends. I wouldn’t bat an eye if any of my friends named their baby Elon- I honestly read your question and before I got to the concern about Elon Musk I was thinking “YES! Elon, perfec!” I think if you live in a Jewish area most people wouldn’t jump to Musk and just take it for the hebrew name it is. As for alternatives:
Oren
Ezra
Ari
Rami
I love the name Ari!
I don’t have a problem with the name association with Elon Musk because my association is that he a is brilliant guy with a few eccentricities. I also really like Amos.
But there are many short Hebrew names that I really like so to the extent it is useful, I might recommend some other options.
Asa
Oren
Zion
Issac
I love the singer Amos Lee!! I vote Amos!
I like Amos best of the top contenders.
From commenters’ suggestions I like Ari (or Aaron), Asher, Ezra, Ira, Micah, & Seth.
Moses seems like a lot to pull off, but I do know a kid who has it as a middle.
Jonah is a favorite of mine.
Eyal & Asa both came to mind for me. Sadly, I agree Elon is going to be too associated with Elon Musk to be usable.
I love the names Noa and Levi — both are on my own lists. I also love the names Ezra, Aaron, Leon (may be too similar to Levi), and Isaac.
Original poster here – really appreciating all the thoughtful input and name suggestions!
You all are bringing up a couple wonderful names we considered for our first son that we should probably revisit (like Oren, Ari) as well as some that are new to our list (Itai/Etai, Ebon/Eben, Enoch).
Some of the great suggestions have already been used by family (Ezra, Asher, Seth), but happy to see them nonetheless. Thank you!!
You have so many great options! I can’t wait to hear what you choose! Chag Pesach Sameach!
From your list I love Amos.
I also love others suggestions of Ezra and Micah.
I will add Zeke, Caleb and Joel.
I love Ari, Ira, Joel, Isaac, Jace
Absolutely loving Amos! 100% YESSSSS.
Agree with the concerns regarding Elon. Shai might raise some pronunciation issues with some folks (“shay”).
A few more ideas that fit in the short/Hebrew-origin/interesting-but-mainstream categories:
* Micah
* Jethro
* Saul
* Jesse
* Reuben
* Joel
Lots of great names have been suggested!
I like:
Ezra — NOa, Levi, and Ezra I love the name Ezra Jack, as in Ezra Jack Keats, author of The Snowy Day.
Isaac — NOa, Levi, and Isaac
Boaz — NOa, Levi, and Boaz
Judah — NOa, Levi, and Judah Judah would be a good pairing with Levi as the brothers would both have names from the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Asher and Ephraim (with a long e sound) are also good “Tribes” names.
Micah — NOa, Levi, and Micah
I love Amos and would like to add Jude, Eli, James, Owen, Silas, and Samuel/Sam
And Jonas!
I know an Amos, so it feels usable to me.
I think Alon, Omer, Omri and Boaz have been suggested already, I’d second those.
My immediate thought was Elim to replace Elon (which I love, but seems too strongly Elon Musk). Looking Elim up, I don’t see that it’s Hebrew, but a Biblical place name. Not sure how you’d feel about that.
How about Aleph or Ezri?
Sorry, didn’t mean that as a reply to @kanah!
I want to put in a plug for Isaiah which has a lot of the lovely soft sounds of Shai but in a bit of different configuration (plus he is a cool figure in the Torah). I also love Abraham 100% well known but almost unused. Finally have you considered Gabriel which is really one of my favorites.
I’m not Jewish but I love Hebrew boy names! My son is Eli and if we have another boy he will probably be Asher. My sister just had a baby boy and named him Micah.
Oh, please go with Amos! My husband vetoed it, along with Levi, and they are awesome names. Would you like Saul?
If you really like Amos, then I suggest you start using it to refer to the baby to 1. get a feel for it and 2. make it -sounding for your husband.
From you list, I prefer Elon. I have loves that name since long before Elon Musk was a well-known figure. Also, while he is very eccentric, sharing a name does not seem like a negative association to me. Over the last couple decades very bad things were done by people with the names James, Bill, etc. Yet no one bats an eye about naming their little boys James or Billy or what-have-you.
If you love the name, use it!
Well, and this is why we’re not discussing this on posts where the parents are considering the names James and William: those names are so diluted by widespread use, it’s not an issue. Whereas a name such as Elon (or Cher, or Elvis, or Adolf, or Elton, or Madonna) is so rare, and belongs so vividly/famously to a particular owner, that it IS an issue to consider.
My one and only turned out to be a girl, but ABRAHAM was at the top of the boy list. Abe! Abram! Bram! So many fun nicknames. You could just go with Avi or another related name.
I know a baby Meir, and it’s an amazing name on a baby or an adult.
Other names I have thought about and personally know are in use in the Jewish/Israeli/American spheres:
Dov
Guy (yes, it’s a Hebrew name!)
Liel (LEE-el)
Oren (Or is tricky in the US, but I know an Or and an Oren!)
Moshe (I personally prefer Moshe over Moses, nn Mo)
Tal (means dew, and I loved this but couldn’t have used it for reasons)
Extremely popular baby names in non-Orthodox Jewish preschools right now: Eli, Ezra, Asher
I love Amos! There is n extremely cool character on The Expanse named Amos who is very much NOT an old puritan lol! I also think it goes great with Levi and Noa
Oh! I thought of another substitute for Elon:
Enos!
(Or Enosh.)
A similar sound but without the Musk association.
Oooh, fun challenge. Collating the memory of all the dudes I went to Jewish day school with/what they’ve since named their kids:
Alon
Ami/Amitai/Amishai
Avi/Avishai
Asaf
Eyal
Itai
Ishai/Yishai/Jesse
Eitan/Etan
Elias
Gideon
Malachi
Ronen
Samson
Silas
Simon
Dov
Tzvi/Zvi
Zev
Ori/Uri/Or
Yigal
Yoav
Gilad
Ari/Ariel
Judah
Yuval
Omer
Itamar
Matan
Gabriel
Elad
Ido
Aron/Aaron
Maayan
Saul/Shaul (the one I knew went by Shuli in school)
Bentzion
And of course, more Bens, Daves, Nates, Jons (sometimes Yoni!), Matts, and Dans than you can shake a stick at.
I know a little boy named Etai and it’s ADORABLE. (is this helpful? IDK?)
Gideon
Noah
Jonah
Micah
Isaac (Ike)
Elijah
Joseph
Joel
I have known a bunch of Elan/Ilans, and Elana/Ilanas, and their names seem to be pronounced correctly most of the time. Granted, these are mostly classmates from my undergrad and grad schools with significant Jewish populations, so maybe not 100% representative of the general population. But it’s an intuitive pronunciation, and I think of Elon as more unusual than the other spellings and definitely linked to E. Musk. So, I would just go Elan/Ilan and call it a day- it’s a beautiful name and I think goes great with Noa and Levi.
I really like Elon and while in the US, people will connect with Elon Musk, it’s a pretty popular name in Israel. Many boys and adults are named Elon and Elon Musk wouldn’t be the first association. I would guess it might be in the top 100 for boys. I prefer the spelling Ilan, or Ilon, but I think you could go any way.
I love Ari though. The meaning, the sound and it’s so good with Noa and Levi!
Such great names! Amos is by FAR my favorite from your list. I agree that Elon is too strongly associated with Musk.
Loving these names from the comments: Ezra, Moses, Eben, Ephraim, Asa.
We also considered Shai as well as Isaiah or Jesse nicknamed Shai (based on the Hebrew pronunciations of the long forms).
I wonder if you might like:
Adin (pronounced ah-dean)
Akiva
Micah
Omer
Eden
Naphtali (Levi, Noa & Naph)
Rimon
Lior
Eliav
I will keep brainstorming & try to think of more!
I agree that Elon is not usable (I work in a space-related field and many people actually have strong negative associations with him, myself included).
Amos is adorable!
My son is Abe (short for Abraham) and I find it totally charming (obviously!), so that might be an option for you also.
Elon is only Musk to me. But I like Ilan.
I’d suggest Avi, but I think it’s too close to Levi. Same with Lior.
Other options:
Ari
Dov
Saul
Jonah
Matan
Natan (if you don’t mind sharing an initial)
Nadav
Love the surprise twist update!
CONGRATULATIONS on this beautiful update! I wish you and your new little ones (with their terrific names) much happiness.
What a fun update! Congratulations.
What a great update! Congrats on your two little ones!
Oh my gosh! Congrats on your boys!
This is an update for the ages! Mazel tov!!!
Wow! Two babies in three months! Congratulations. Lovely names.