When you think of the name Eli,

[Anonymous]

Jolt back to earth - think of it at the top of a resume......

[Anonymous]

That being said, I grew up in the South and it also happens to be a traditional name for southern boys (hence Eli Manning, Eli Whitney, etc.). So multiple groups have used it.

FYI since no one has mentioned it - Eli Manning's given name is Elisha.

And, to the Shannon Schwartz poster - I dated a guy in high school called Eli and his actual name was Elijah [incredibly Irish Catholic surname - think Kelly or Donnelly]. When I first mentioned him to my parents, my dad snorted at that odd combination, too.

[Anonymous]

Wikipedia says Manning's given name is Elijah. Do you have an inside source? If you are right I am shocked!

[Anonymous]

What will you do when Eli gets accepted to Harvard or Princeton instead of Yale?

[Anonymous]

I don't think it is antisemitic to wonder this, but if you are asked continually if he is Jewish would that bother you? You could use this as a way of teaching tolerance, but if you dint think you could be open minded about it, then I would pick another name.

[Anonymous]

I am Jewish and while I LOVE the name Keisha, I just think it would cause too many problems for a daughter to be "Keisha ____fill in the most common Jewish last name ever."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Say what you want, I agree with PP--you sound like an anti-Semite. You said it would be "weird" if people thought you had chosen a Jewish name. Why the heck do you even care? The message that is coming through loud and clear is that, god forbid, you don't want someone thinking your kid is Jewish.

I don't think it's anti-Semitic to ask such a question. I'm Christian and my husband is Jewish and I'm raising our kids as Christians (this is our agreement). Since our kids' last name is Jewish, we purposely avoided Jewish-sounding first names (e.g. Ruth, Nathan) because we thought it would be confusing/"mis-branding" given that they self-identify as Christians, and participate in a Christian community.

To OP: I don't think Eli necessarily connotes Jewish.

WASP with a son named Nathan. I think of it as more of a biblical name than a Jewish name since we all share the Old Testament.

Nathan is a beautiful name; it means "gift from God," no? I love it.

[Anonymous]

My nickname in elementary school was Eli and my name is Elizabeth.

[Anonymous]

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]

Anonymous wrote:\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.

It's not that considering the name Eli is anti-semitic, it's the OP's concerns that someone might think she's "weird" for doing so that sound particularly offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:\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.

It's not that considering the name Eli is anti-semitic, it's the OP's concerns that someone might think she's "weird" for doing so that sound particularly offensive.

This has been explained already, but the OP meant, 'does it sound weird considering we're not Jewish' not 'does it sound weird (because it could be considered Jewish)'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Say what you want, I agree with PP--you sound like an anti-Semite. You said it would be "weird" if people thought you had chosen a Jewish name. Why the heck do you even care? The message that is coming through loud and clear is that, god forbid, you don't want someone thinking your kid is Jewish.

I don't think it's anti-Semitic to ask such a question. I'm Christian and my husband is Jewish and I'm raising our kids as Christians (this is our agreement). Since our kids' last name is Jewish, we purposely avoided Jewish-sounding first names (e.g. Ruth, Nathan) because we thought it would be confusing/"mis-branding" given that they self-identify as Christians, and participate in a Christian community.

To OP: I don't think Eli necessarily connotes Jewish.

WASP with a son named Nathan. I think of it as more of a biblical name than a Jewish name since we all share the Old Testament.

*I AGREE!
Lets say that most of the Jewish names are also Christian's names.WE "SHARE" THE OLD TESTAMENT

[Anonymous]

Amish farmer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was one of our top 2 choices for DS 18 mo. ago. We are Catholic so didn't cross our minds that some may think it is a Jewish name. I have plenty of Jewish friends & when I told them afterwards that it was one of our choices, they didn't say anything about it being a Jewish name. We didn't go with it b/c the Giants had just won the superbowl & didn't want to think we named him after Eli Manning. Now pregnant with #2 & if it is a boy we are still considering Eli, but I must warn you, I am starting to hear the name on the playground & in grocery stores so I fear it could be very trendy.
All that being said, name your kid whatever you want.

Eli=Manning
Nathan=Lane

[Anonymous]

Eli = Manning
Nathan = yummy hotdogs