Israelis: [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I are both Israeli citizens and Hebrew speakers but we live in [name_u]America[/name_u] and have for most of our lives. We are having a baby in [name_f]July[/name_f]. We are wondering about how two potential names will work with our large Israeli family and in [name_m]Israel[/name_m] in general, as we visit often: [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] and [name_m]Ezra[/name_m]. [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] because it sounds like “kelev” (dog) and because we have never heard of an Israeli named [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] (how would it even be pronounced?!); [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] because it simply means “help” and seems like that might be strange. Any insights from people living in [name_m]Israel[/name_m]?
I am not Israeli, but lived on the kibbutz for almost a year total…2 trips. The first 9 months, I was with a group. We had a [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] in our group. Yes, they pronounce it the same as Calev…dog. He seemed to get along fine, but yeah, I didn’t meet any Israelis with that name. Lol. [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] works better. I believe there was one on the kibbutz. I didn’t work with him though so I did not know him well, but it was pronounced Ez-RAH with more emphasis on the last syllable. Of these two names, I would definitely go with [name_m]Ezra[/name_m].