View Message

Rotem, Aviv and Shai
Do you think these would work in an English speaking country? I like them all for girls even though Aviv is nice on both genders.Rotem
Aviv
Shai (pronounced like SHY)
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

I think any name would work in an English-speaking country to be honest. I have a soft spot for all of the above names.
vote up1
I think they'd look weird in an English-speaking country unless the parents were Jewish. Even then, I'd expect a Shai or Aviv living in the US to come from a very observant Jewish family.

This message was edited 1/8/2019, 2:56 PM

vote up1
Aviv and Shai would fit in no problem, some people might pronounce Shai like Shay but I don't think it would be a constant problem.
Rotem on the other hand might raise some questions on where it's from and how you pronounce it and such. I'm not sure how to pronounce it either but I assume most english-speakers (at least in the US) would pronounce it like 'row-dum' or 'raw-dum'. It's not really all that strange however, just a little bit peculiar.
vote up1
Aviv and Shai would work for sure, I've known several Avivs (all male) and a Shai (male). Rotem would be unusual, but I it's not difficult to pronounce and I don't see something being foreign/unusual as a reason not to use it if it's a name you love. I see all these names have a decent amount of usage on girls, but Aviv especially is very masculine to me. Shai seems pretty unisex, but more feminine in the "creatively spelling the word Shy" variety while the Hebrew name seems masculine to me, probably because the Shai I know is very masculine. I also don't really care for the fact that I forsee jokes when she would introduce herself as "Hi I'm Shai" "Haha you seem pretty outgoing to me!" type of thing. Aviv's a favorite of mine, but for a boy.
vote up1
I don't live in an English speaking country but it is important to me that a name would work there. I guess Shai could just pronounce her name as SHAY if she went to an English speaking country as the pronunciations are often altered e.g. Sophie is pronounced differently in French and English etc. Aviv works well on a man too, in my opinion. I like it on both genders but prefer it on a girl. Aviva is too much for me.
vote up1
Hi Perrine !!!I've never seen Rotem but I found that's a kind of plant so it could work for a girl.I love both Shai and Aviv but...for a boy.For a girl I suggest Aviva and Shae.
vote up1
The meaning "to bind" is odd for Rotem, but it would work if you tell people the correct way to pronounce it. It looks like in Israel it is used way more for girls so it could work for a girl in the US. Aviv reminds me of the city Tel Aviv in Israel, and the meaning is pretty so I think that could be usable for a girl in the US. Shai is nice, and would probably be the easiest to pull off, since Shae and Shaelyn are used and Shai is a name with history.
vote up1
Shai most certainly would. The others would be fine as well, but might cause questions about their origin.
vote up1