When you think of the name Eli,

[Anonymous]

Is Eli really a boys name?
I have heard of Ella, Elli, Elouis, Heli, Hayley etc
The spelling is too unusual to fit into the English language.
How about Nelli, Nelly, Nestor, Ester, Herman?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Eli really a boys name?
I have heard of Ella, Elli, Elouis, Heli, Hayley etc
The spelling is too unusual to fit into the English language.
How about Nelli, Nelly, Nestor, Ester, Herman?

Yes, it's really a boy's name. Every name you mentioned is more "unusual" in the US than Eli.

[Anonymous]

What about Felix ?

[Anonymous]

I love the name. It sounds beautiful, and it brings to mind the priest/judge in the Bible who trained young Samuel.

[Anonymous]

seth is much more jewish than eli

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:seth is much more jewish than eli

Hee. Has anyone else read or seen "Cold Comfort Farm"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:seth is much more jewish than eli

Hee. Has anyone else read or seen "Cold Comfort Farm"?

A wonderful book, with the brothers Seth and Reuben. And wasn't the old farmworker called Adam?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We gave our DD a name that is most common in Hebrew, and we're not Jewish. I asked a few Jewish friends if they thought it sounded weird, and they didn't. One Israeli friend said it sounded *old* -- apparently the name is common in Israel for middle-aged women, not babies! But not too many people have assumed we're Jewish or found it weird that we chose a "Jewish" name. And at least two people of two other ethnicities have asked if the name came from THEIR background!

Eli would make me tend to think Jewish, but not so much that I would absolutely assume he was Jewish or think it was weird that a non-Jew was named that.

And I don't think it's anti-semitic at all. If a non-Latino person were considering the pros and cons of naming her child Jose, would that be racist? Or if a person with no Japanese ancestry were considering the pros and cons of naming her child Natsuki? People just expect certain things when they hear certain names, and parents have to decide if it's worth it to have their kid potentially spend their entire life having people be confused/surprised/even offended that their name and their "appearance" don't match.

[Anonymous]

no

[Anonymous]

bye bye

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP--this sounds like a very prejudiced thing to say.

OP: On DCUM everythng has to be politically correct; free speech and free thought are forbidden. I don't like the name Eli, for one reason that it is becoming too popular and I know three families who have named their son Eli. It does sound Jewish because it is Old Testament but then I know Jews who have named their sons Matthew, which is decidedly New Testament. I would never have named my daughter LaToya or anything with "La" and one of the DCUM PC police. is going to start rating and raving that I am anti-AA.

[Anonymous]

Eli does sound Jewish to me. You have to decide if that will bother you, because it will come up from time to time -- people will assume your son/you are Jewish, and/or Jews will think it's weird that you named your son Eli.

We are not Jewish, and our DD has a name that Jewish people assume is Jewish (it can also be Italian, Russian, Greek, etc, but in the US it's most commonly used by Jewish women... apparently it's common for middle-aged Israelis!) Anyway, it hasn't been a big deal for us, although some of my Jewish friends have teased me about it. None of them seem offended or anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My southern, jewish mil gave her son an irish name because she loved irish names at the time. it is totally the wrong name for her southern, jewish son. it just doesn't fit him.

Of all the MIL stories that I have ever heard, this has to be a classic

I knew a girl called Heli, it is a shortened version of Helen, Helena. Greek origin.
I had not known that Eli was a boys name until this board came along.

[Anonymous]

During grad school I worked at a book store with a sexy guy named Eli. He was def. Jewish but that added to his virility/appeal. Kind of like a young Norman Mailer type.

Anyway, I def. think the man's Jewish when I hear his name is Eli.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My southern, jewish mil gave her son an irish name because she loved irish names at the time. it is totally the wrong name for her southern, jewish son. it just doesn't fit him.

Of all the MIL stories that I have ever heard, this has to be a classic

I knew a girl called Heli, it is a shortened version of Helen, Helena. Greek origin.
I had not known that Eli was a boys name until this board came along.

How is this possible? I have never heard a female Eli. Are you pronouncing it in your head correctly? EE-Ligh.