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Haim

(Redirected from Hyam)
For other uses of Haim or its variations, see Haim (disambiguation).

Haim can be a first name or surname originating in Hebrew or derived from the Old German name Haimo.

Etymology

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Hebrew

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Chayyim (Hebrew: חַיִּים Ḥayyīm, Classical Hebrew: [ħajˈjiːm], Israeli Hebrew: [ˈχa.im, ħaˈjim]), also transcribed Haim, Hayim, Chayim, or Chaim (English pronunciations: /haɪm/ HYME, /xaɪm/ KHYME, /ˈxɑːjiːm/ KHAH-yeem), is a Hebrew name meaning "life". Its first usage can be traced to the Middle Ages. It is a popular name among Jewish people.[1] The feminine form for this name is Chaya[2] (Hebrew: חַיָּה Ḥayyah, Classical Hebrew: [ħajˈjaː], Israeli Hebrew: [ˈχaja, ħaˈja]; English pronunciations: /ˈhɑːjɑː/ HAH-yah, /ˈxɑːjɑː/ KHAH-yah).

Chai is the Hebrew word for "alive". According to Kabbalah, the name Hayim helps the person to remain healthy, and people were known to add Hayim as a second name to improve their health.

In the United States, Chaim is a common spelling; however, since the phonemic pattern is unusual for English words, Hayim is often used as an alternative spelling. The "ch" spelling comes from transliteration of the Hebrew letter "chet", which also starts words like Chanukah, Channa, etc., which can also be spelled as Hanukah and Hannah. It is cognate to the Arabic word حياة (ḥayāh), with the same meaning, deriving from the same Proto-Semitic root.

Hebrew letters are also used as numerals, and the Hebrew letters that spell "chai" also stand for the number 18. Thus, 18 is considered a lucky number in Jewish culture. It is common to give gifts and contributions to charity in multiples of 18.

Common secular replacements for the name Haim include Heinrich and Harvey. Among Argentine Jews, the Spanish name Jaime (Spanish: [ˈxajme], a Spanish cognate of James) is often chosen for its phonetic similarity to Haim.

The names Vivian and Zoe have a similar meaning.

Old German

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The earliest attested forms of this etymology occur in Old German, as Haimo. This Old German name was borrowed into Old French, including into the Anglo-Norman dialect spoken in England, in forms including Haim. This became one source of the English surname Haim, along with variants like Hame, Haim, Haime, Haimes, Hains, Haines, Hayns, Haynes, Hammon and Hammond.[3]

In 1881, three people in Great Britain bore the surname Haim and 67 the surname Haime. Around 2011, the numbers stood at 94 and 173 respectively, with two bearers of the surname Haim in Ireland.[3]

People with the given name

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Haim

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Hayim or Hayyim

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Hyam or Haym

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Chaim

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People with the surname

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Haim

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Hyam

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Hayyim

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mike Campbell. "Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Chayyim". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
  2. ^ Mike Campbell. "Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Chaya". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
  3. ^ a b The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ed. by Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates, and Peter McClure, 4 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), II, pp. 1168–67 [s.vv. Haim, Haime]; ISBN 978-0-19-967776-4.
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