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In Israel, as one would expect of a Jewish population, first names are frequently taken from the Old Testament of the Bible – for instance, Abraham, David, Ya’akov (Jacob), Yitzak (Isaac), Moshe (Moses) for boys and Rivka (Rebecca), Ruth, Sarah for girls. Even names which occur only once in the Bible – for example, Medad and Eldad – can become popular. The letters ‘el’ in Hebrew refer to God, so we have boys’ names like Amiel, Ariel, Gavriel, Immanuel, Israel, Mikhael, Samuel and Yoel and girls’ names like Danielle, Emmanuelle, Katriel, Mireil and Nirel. Many other Hebrew names have a reference to God – for instance, boys’ names like Dan meaning ‘God has judged in my favour’, Eliyahu meaning ‘my God is God’, Yehu meaning ‘He is God’, Yonaton (Jonathan) meaning ‘gift of God’ and girls’ names like Basia meaning ‘daughter of God’, Beth meaning ‘house of God’, Eliana meaning ‘the Lord is my God’, Ikia meaning ‘God is my salvation’, Jane and Joan both meaning ‘God is gracious’, Rebecca meaning ‘servant of God’, and Sheena meaning ‘God is gracious’. The Hebrew word for pleasant or agreeable gives rise to Noam (male) and Naomi/Nomi (female). Middle names are not used in Israel.
In 2005, a group of Israeli rabbis issued a list of names they said Jewish parents should not call their children for fear of bringing bad luck. The list includes the names Ariel and Omri – which happen to belong to the Israeli prime minister and his son. Calling Ariel, the rabbis say, could mistakenly invoke the wrath of a namesake angel, while Omri was the name of an evil biblical king.
In Jewish communities around the world, there is strong tradition of naming babies after the closest deceased relative for whom no one else in that immediate family has already been named. Also most Jewish males have two names: a religous name called the shem hakodesh which is a Hebrew name and a secular name called the kinnui which is in whatever vernacular language is used in the country of habitation.
The most common surname in Israel is Cohen.
In many countries, the systematic use of family names is a relatively recent practice. For instance, in Turkey, it was not until 1934 that the ‘Father of the nation’ Kemal Atatürk had a law passed obliging every Turkish citizen to adopt a surname (on his birth, Kemal Atatürk himself was called simply Mustafa).
In other countries, family names are still not used. For example, in Oman, a child would be given a personal name, his father’s personal name and then a tribal name – such as Mohammed Hassan al-Hathari. Similarly, in Iraq, the former dictator was called Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti becuase he came from the clan based on the town of Tikrit.
Armenia is a nation whose ancestral history dates back 2000 years B.C. so, along the way, the nation has accumulated a rich list of personal names. Some are borrowed from other civilisations it came in contact with, and others are simply the names of elements found in nature. The most common Armenian boy names are Raffi and Ara. Girls are commonly called Ani. Interestingly, almost all Armenians have a last name ending in either ‘-ian’ (such as Aloian or Hamparian) or ‘-yan’. To the best of my knowledge, Armenians were required to add this ending to their names in order to be more recognizable by Turkish authorities.
Link: Armenian names click here
Names in Iran reflect the unique nature of the predominant language which is Farsi. Children are given names from religous and historical sources and, as in many Islamic countries, must be officially sanctioned. Common boys’ names therefore are Muhammad, Ebrahim, Kourosh, Farhad and Hamid. Other boys’ names refer to vernacular words such as Arman (‘goal’), Casper (‘treasurer’), Cyrus (‘sun’), Dra (‘wealthy’), Feirouz (‘fortunate’), Pirouz (‘victory’) and Soroush (‘happiness’). Girls, names tend to reflect so-called feminine virtues or images such as Esther (‘star’), Laleh (‘tulip’), Mehri (‘lovable’), Nahid (‘Venus’), Pari (‘fairy’), and Soraya (‘princess’) plus many variations on Jasmine/Yasmin.
In Sri Lanka, the noted writer Ariesen Ahubudu suggests that a baby’s name should be “striking, attractive to others, melodious, meaningful, easy to pronounce, rhyming with the surname, based on proper numerological calculations to ensure longevity, progress popularity and the first letter of a name should be selected according to the birth time” – a formidable list of requirements with which he is willing to assist!
Link: Ariesen Ahubudu’s advice click here
Sri Lanka is a mainly Buddhist country and some of the names derived from Buddhism, mentioned earlier in the discussion of Indian names, are to be found in the island. Some epithets associated with the Buddha, however, are distinctly Sri Lankan as naming influences, such as Jayawardene (from jayavardhana meaning ‘promoting (the) victory (of Buddhism)’) and Wickramasinghe (from vikramasimha meaning ‘a lion in valour’). As far as surnames are concerned, as well as local influences, one finds some names which show a Portuguese colonial influence, such as De Silva and Perera. Both first names and surnames in Sri Lanka are often compound names, making names in this country among the longest in the world.
Link: Sri Lankan names click here
The country of Thailand must have some of the longest family names in the world. This official at the Center for Labour Information Service and Training has 14 letters in his last name: Somyot Pruksakasemsuk.
In Korea, naming structures are similar to those in China. Korean given names are usually composed of two characters or syllables using Hanja. A few people have one- or three-character given names, like the politician Kim Ku and Sin Saimdang, the mother of the philosopher Yi I. People with two-character family names often have a one-character given name, like the singer Seomoon Tak.
In 1991, the South Korean Supreme Court published the Table of Hanja for Personal Name Use that restricts the possible Hanja in new Korean given names. Originally the list included the 1,800 Basic Hanja for Educational Use taught in middle and high school plus 1,054 additional characters; since then, the list has been expanded.
Traditionally, given names are determined by a rule called ‘dollimja’, which originated in China but fell into disuse there. One of the two characters in a given name is unique to the individual and the other is shared by all people in a family of the same sex and generation, called the generation name.
While the traditional practice is still largely followed, since the late 1970s, some people have given names that are native Korean words, usually of two syllables in length to follow the old two-character pattern. Popular native Korean given names include Haneul (‘heaven or ‘sky’) and Iseul (‘dew’).
Korean family names are influenced by Chinese family names so, as in Chinese, there is the term ‘the hundred family names’ (‘baekseong’). As with Chinese family names, almost all Korean family names have just one Hanja (or one syllable).
Just three family names – Kim, Pak and Yi – account for a large number of Koreans and half the population of Korea has one of the 13 most common family names. In fact, there are only roughly 250 family names (‘seongssi’) in use today. Each family name is divided into one or more clans (‘bongwan’), identified by the city that the clan office is located in. The most populous clan is Gimhae Kim; that is, the Kim clan based in the city of Gimhae (near Busan). Every 30 years, each clan publishes a comprehensive genealogy.
Unlike the situation in Europe or North America, a woman keeps her family name at marriage, but her children take her husband’s name. A small number of women give their children double surnames: one from each parent.
Thailand has managed to avoided colonialisation by any of the European powers, so names here are very traditional. They tend to be long and elaborate, so many people are referred to by nicknames. Boys’ names reflect strong virtues: for instance, Decha and Sakda (both meaning ‘power’). Girls’ names typically refer to flowers or jewels: for instance, Mali (‘jasmine flower’) and Sumalee (‘garland’) or Phailin (‘sapphire’) and Ratana (‘jewel’).