Gender:
Origin:
Hebrew
111 famous people named Chaim found on Wikipedia.
9181 male, 6 female in US.
Most recent ranking:
767-th in year 2018
Best ranking:
697-th in year 2012
Used in: Hebrew
Chayyim (Hebrew: חַיִּים Ḥayyīm, Classical Hebrew: [ħajˈjiːm], Israeli Hebrew: [ˈχa.im, ħaˈjim]), also transcribed Haim, Hayim, Chayim, or Chaim (English pronunciations: HYM, KHYM, KHAH-yeem), is a name of Hebrew origin which means "life". Its first usage can be traced to the Middle Ages. It is a popular name among Jewish people. The feminine form for this name is Chaya (Hebrew: חַיָּה Ḥayyah, Classical Hebrew: [ħajˈjaː], Israeli Hebrew: [ˈχaja, ħaˈja]; English pronunciations: HAH-yah, KHAH-yah ).
Chai is the Hebrew word for "alive". According to Kaballah, the name Hayim helps the person to remain healthy, and people were known to add Hayim as their second name to improve their health. (Among Serbians, the name "Vuk", meaning "wolf", as well as Idir ("he will live") among Kabyles, was for similar reasons given to weak and ill infants.)
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.
L'Chaim in Hebrew is a toast meaning "to life". When a couple becomes engaged, they get together with friends and family to celebrate. Since they drink l'chaim ("to life"), the celebration is also called a l'chaim.
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.
Among Argentine Jews, the Spanish name Jaime (Spanish: [ˈxajme], a Spanish cognate of James) is often chosen for its phonetic similarity to Haim.
Hayim is a non-governmental organization that works on a voluntary basis to provide relief and support for pediatric oncology patients in Israel.
Variant transcription of Chayyim, variant of Hyman, means: life in Hebrew.
Popularity | Name | Birth Year | Description |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Chaim Topol | 1935 | Israeli theatrical and film performer, actor, writer and producer |
2 | Chaim Weizmann | 1874 | Zionist leader, 1st president of Israel |
3 | Chaim Herzog | 1918 | Israeli politician, 6th president of Israel |
4 | Chaim Potok | 1929 | American rabbi |
5 | Chaim Soutine | 1893 | French painter |
6 | Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski | 1877 | Jewish Nazi collaborator |
7 | Chaim Kanievsky | 1928 | Haredi rabbi in Israel |
8 | Chaim ibn Attar | 1696 | Moroccan rabbi |
9 | Chaim Soloveitchik | 1853 | Russian rabbi |
10 | Chaim Michael Dov Weissmandl | 1903 | Hungarian rabbi |
11 | Chaim Gross | 1904 | American artist |
12 | Chaim Goldberg | 1917 | Polish artist |
13 | Chaim of Volozhin | 1749 | Polish Jewish rabbi, Talmudist and ethicist |
14 | Chaim Halberstam | 1793 | Polish rabbi |
15 | Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg | 1910 | Rosh yeshiva, posek |
16 | Chaim Joseph David Azulai | 1724 | Jerusalem rabbi |
17 | Chaim Ozer Grodzinski | 1863 | Belarusian rabbi |
18 | Chaim Nahum | 1872 | Ottoman rabbi |
19 | Chaim Zanvl Abramowitz | 1902 | American Hasidic rabbi |
20 | Chaim Grade | 1910 | Yiddish author |
21 | Chaim Schalk | 1986 | |
22 | Chaim Elazar Spira | 1871 | Hungarian rabbi |
23 | Chaim Kreiswirth | 1918 | Chief Rabbi |
24 | Chaim Pinto | 1748 | Moroccan rabbi |
25 | Chaim Deutsch | New York City Council member | |
26 | Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz | 1902 | Lithuanian rabbi |
27 | Chaim Hezekiah Medini | 1832 | Ottoman rabbi |
28 | Victor Vancier | 1956 | American activist |
29 | Chaim Rapoport | 1963 | British rabbi |
30 | Chaim Avrohom Horowitz | 1933 | |
31 | Chaim Menachem Rabin | 1915 | Israeli linguist |
32 | Chaim Richman | Rabbi | |
33 | Chaim Schochet | 1987 | |
34 | Chaim Berlin | 1832 | Rabbi of Valozhyn, Moscow and Jerusalem |
35 | Chaim Levanon | 1899 | Israeli politician |
36 | Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum | 1880 | Hungarian rabbi |
37 | Chaim Koppelman | 1920 | American printmaker and artist |
38 | Chaim L. Pekeris | 1908 | Geophysics |
39 | Chaim Zhitlowsky | 1865 | Russian Jewish socialist and political thinker |
40 | Chaim Hirschensohn | 1857 | American Orthodox rabbi |
41 | Chaim Walder | 1969 | Author |
42 | Chaim Mordechai Katz | 1894 | American rabbi |
43 | Chaim F. Shatan | 1924 | Canadian physician |
44 | Chaim Zimmerman | 1915 | American Orthodox rabbi |
45 | Chaim Gutnick | 1921 | Australian rabbi |
46 | Chaim Brovender | 1941 | American rabbi |
47 | Chaim Sheba | 1908 | Israeli physician |
48 | Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach | 1886 | Rosh yeshiva |
49 | Chaim Bermant | 1929 | British writer |
50 | Chaim Madar | Tunisian rabbi | |
51 | Chaim Walkin | 1945 | Chinese rabbi |
52 | Chaim Yehoshua Halberstam | American rabbi | |
53 | Chaim Yitzchak Bloch Hacohen | 1865 | Rabbi |
54 | Chaim Mordechai Aizik Hodakov | 1902 | Chief of staff of the secretariat of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson |
55 | Chaim Engel | 1916 | |
56 | Chaim Eitingon | 1857 | |
57 | Chaim Gingold | 1980 | American video game designer |
58 | Chaim Rabinowitz | 1856 | Lithuanian Talmudist, rosh yeshiva |
59 | Chaim Avraham Dov Ber Levine haCohen | Founder of the Malachim | |
60 | Chaim Abraham Gagin | 1787 | Chief Rabbi of Ottoman Palestine |
61 | Chaim Sofer | 1821 | Hungarian rabbi |
62 | Chaim Benveniste | 1603 | Ottoman rabbi |
63 | Chaim Aronson | 1825 | Lithuanian Jew inventor/memoirist |
64 | Chaim Elozor Wax | 1882 | Polish rabbi |
65 | Chaim Janowski | 1868 | Polish chess player and organizer |
66 | Chaim David Lippe | 1823 | Austrian publisher |
67 | Chaim Dov Keller | American rabbi | |
68 | Chaim Widawski | 1904 | Zionist activist |
69 | Chaim I. Waxman | 1941 | American sociologist |
70 | Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht | 1924 | Israeli rabbi |
71 | Chaim Dov Rabinowitz | 1909 | Lithuanian rabbi |
72 | Chaim Yassky | 1896 | Russian ophthalmologist |
73 | Chaim Levano | 1938 | Dutch theatre director |
74 | Chaim Ankierman | 1892 | |
75 | Chaim Yaakov Rottenberg | 1909 | French rabbi |
76 | Chaim Shacham | 1960 | Israeli diplomat |
77 | Chaim Loike | 1977 | American rabbi |
78 | Chaim Paltiel | ||
79 | Chaim Kiewe | 1912 | Israeli artist |
80 | Chaim Yosef Gottlieb of Stropkov | 1794 | Hungarian rabbi |
81 | Chaim Gliksberg | 1904 | Israeli artist |
82 | Chaim Yisroel Eiss | 1876 | Activist |
83 | Chaim Flom | Israeli rabbi | |
84 | Chaim Shemesh | 1959 | Israeli music producer |
85 | Ḥayyîm Seeligmann | 1912 | German-israeli educationist and historian |
86 | Chaim Shneur Zalman Schneersohn | Russian rabbi | |
87 | Chaim Hermann | ||
88 | Chaim Schatzker | 1928 | Israeli historian |
89 | Haim Yahiel | 1905 | Israeli politician |
90 | Chaim Kamil | 1933 | Israeli Rabbi |
91 | Chaim Dov Kantor | 1865 | |
92 | Chaim Itsl Goldstein | 1900 | Polish writer |
93 | Haim Tabakman | 1975 | Israeli film director |
94 | Chaim Frymer | 1920 | |
95 | Chaim Lajb Poznański | 1879 | |
96 | Chaim Noll | 1954 | German university teacher and writer |
97 | Chaim | 2000 | |
98 | Chaim Siemiatycki | 1908 | |
99 | Chaim Mordechai Margoliot | ||
100 | Ḥayyîm Ḥîssîn | 1865 | |
101 | Chaim Rasner | 1882 | |
102 | Chaim Dawidsohn | 1760 | |
103 | Chaim Arie Leibusz Horowitz | 1851 | |
104 | Chaim Hanft | 1899 | Polish painter |
105 | Chaim Sandler | Polish actor | |
106 | Chaim Pozner | 1871 | |
107 | Chaim Langfus | 1882 | |
108 | Chaim Auerbach | ||
109 | Chaim Jacob Benyakar | 1800 | Chief Rabbi (1800-1900) |
110 | Chaim Dawid ben Uri Fajbusz ha-Lewi | 1666 | |
111 | Chaim Kaplan | 1880 | Holocaust victim |