I absolutely love the name [name_f]Ziva[/name_f]. It’s a name that has floated in and out of my top 10 for about six years now but has always been something that I would use in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. It feels so [name_u]Abby[/name_u]. I love names that are spunky, zippy, vivacious, uncommon, and I believe a good way to describe [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] is sparky. She just has a fire.
Unfortunately, [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] means “gonorrhea” in Israeli Hebrew. Since discovering that, the name feels less usable to me. Perhaps on a character but not for a real child. I’m longing to fill the void of [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] on my list and I’m in search of names that feel just as sparky.
Now. [name_f]Aviva[/name_f]. I love [name_f]Aviva[/name_f], for other people. It’s a beautiful name but I don’t see it for myself. Same with [name_f]Aziza[/name_f]. They are lovely and I hope that others use them.
What names give you sparky vibes? Names that just have so much energy that they feel as though they’re about to catch fire? Names with a similar feel to [name_f]Ziva[/name_f]?
Zadie
[name_f]Zazie[/name_f]
[name_f]Zeta[/name_f] (I used to have a classmate called this, I’ve always thought it was super cool!)
[name_f]Zara[/name_f]
[name_f]Vita[/name_f]
[name_f]Liza[/name_f]
Zali / [name_f]Zayley[/name_f]
[name_f]Mitzi[/name_f]
[name_f]Roxy[/name_f]
[name_f]Tova[/name_f]
Zeona
[name_f]Zaina[/name_f]
[name_f]Zuzu[/name_f] (more of a nickname but I love the spunky energy it has)
[name_u]Jules[/name_u]
[name_f]Lilah[/name_f]
Some of these are different style-wise but I feel they have the same fiery energy that [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] does!
@sgsg8 [name_f]Pia[/name_f], [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], and [name_u]Zia[/name_u] are wonderful!
@caramel107 [name_f]Juno[/name_f] absolutely fits! She’s one of my absolute favorites!
@EagleEyes I really like [name_f]Zadie[/name_f] and [name_f]Tova[/name_f]!
@Arythia [name_f]Zoe[/name_f] is beautiful but a bit too common for me.
Zelda was mentioned multiple times and I’d considered it before! I really love the name but I’m not familiar at all with the game and I’m worried the association is too strong.
What??? Nooooo! I never knew that’s what [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] means. I just thought it was the literal bright meaning (which is a lot of the reason why I love it so much). I don’t have many new suggestions (there’ll be repeats), but I have a few names that give off a similarly badass vibe. Also I’m glad I know about the less savoury connections to [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] now haha.
@Greyblue spunky and bright seemed okay but just not cutting it? Then sparky came to me last night and I thought it was perfect! I’m happy someone else agrees haha. I love [name_f]Embla[/name_f], [name_f]Priya[/name_f], [name_f]Savvy[/name_f], [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], [name_f]Xena[/name_f], and [name_f]Zelie[/name_f]!
@Myosotis I know! I was devastated too! It’s spelled differently than the word in Hebrew but they’re pronounced exactly the same out loud. [name_f]Xena[/name_f], [name_f]Cleo[/name_f], [name_f]Lyra[/name_f], [name_u]Zia[/name_u], [name_f]Xenia[/name_f], [name_f]Xanthe[/name_f], and [name_f]Azula[/name_f] are lovely!
@anon68906791 [name_f]Xena[/name_f], [name_f]Xanthe[/name_f], and [name_f]Eliora[/name_f] are beautiful!
@hellobanjo it really is . [name_u]Vivian[/name_u], [name_u]Piper[/name_u], and [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] are great names!
Personally, I think [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] would still work as a name. In Hebrew, [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] as gonorrhea and as a brilliant light are spelled differently (זיבה versus זיוה). [name_f]Ziva[/name_f]’s listed on Kveller (a website for Jewish parents that has a baby names encyclopedia) so they also give it a stamp of approval! I know a [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] whose family is fairly observant and certainly knows Hebrew; I don’t think she’s had many issues. But I still understand not wanting to use it.
Other possibilities:
[name_f]Reva[/name_f]/Riva
other Hebrew “[name_u]Avi[/name_u]” names – [name_f]Avital[/name_f], [name_f]Avigail[/name_f]/Avigael/ plain old [name_u]Avi[/name_u], [name_f]Aviya[/name_f] (they would stick out as "oh that’s a Hebrew name to some people, but definitely not to everyone)
Viva
[name_f]Aliza[/name_f] (pronounced either with the i sounding like “eye” or “ee”)
@haltingpie I tried to reason it by saying they’re spelled differently in Hebrew but ultimately, I realized that there’s not much of a difference between naming a kid Gonorrhea or Goneria, so it would feel too similar. I’m not Jewish and I don’t know Hebrew though so it’s nice to see that people who are more familiar with the religion/language/culture deem it okay. [name_u]Israel[/name_u] is high on the list of places I want to show my kids someday.
I really like [name_f]Avia[/name_f]! I like it pronounced ah-vee-uh instead of ay-vee-uh, which is how I’ve seen it in real life. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is actually [name_u]Abby[/name_u] ([name_f]Abigael[/name_f]) so I’m not sure if using an [name_u]Avi[/name_u] name would be odd haha.
@fearlessfirefly [name_f]Zelie[/name_f], [name_u]Zia[/name_u], [name_f]Xenia[/name_f], and [name_u]Vesper[/name_u] are lovely!
@EdgeOfTheMeadow I love [name_f]Suvi[/name_f], [name_f]Liv[/name_f], [name_f]Tess[/name_f], [name_f]Zarina[/name_f], [name_u]Tavi[/name_u], Evra, and [name_u]Elysian[/name_u]!
@voughtlori okay? That’s not why I’m not using [name_f]Ziva[/name_f]…
But [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] does not mean only what you said . Sure it’s that, but it also means “her light”, or “beauty”, and is totally usable in [name_u]Israel[/name_u] ! ( trust me, I live here lol). It’s not that rare and I don’t see a problem with using it. That definition is def not the main one, the one I gave is
Avie (maybe it would be a little weird for you to use an [name_u]Avi[/name_u] name, I’m not sure)
[name_f]Pia[/name_f]
[name_f]Xanthe[/name_f]
[name_f]Juni[/name_f]
[name_f]Junia[/name_f]
[name_f]Sia[/name_f]
[name_f]Dia[/name_f]
[name_f]Fia[/name_f]
[name_f]Tia[/name_f]
Vaea / Vaia (vay-uh)
Cova
[name_f]Vita[/name_f]
[name_f]Vada[/name_f]
[name_f]Via[/name_f]
[name_f]Iva[/name_f]
[name_f]Raea[/name_f] (ray-uh)
[name_f]Raia[/name_f] / [name_f]Raya[/name_f] (ray-uh or rye-uh)
. [name_u]Vivian[/name_u], [name_u]Piper[/name_u], and [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] are great names!
