Haim


Haim can be a first name or surname originating in Hebrew or derived from the Old German name Haimo.

Etymology

Hebrew

Chayyim, also transcribed Haim, Hayim, Chayim, or Chaim, is a Hebrew name meaning "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.
Chai is the Hebrew word for "alive". According to Kabbalah, the name Hayim helps the person to remain healthy, and people were known to add Hayim as a second name to improve their health.
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, with the same meaning, deriving from the same Proto-Semitic root.
Common secular replacements for the name Haim include Heinrich and Harvey. Among Argentine Jews, the Spanish name Jaime is often chosen for its phonetic similarity to Haim.
The names Vivian and Zoe have a similar meaning.

Old German

The earliest attested forms of this etymology occur in Old German, as Haimo. This Old German name was borrowed into Old French, including into the Anglo-Norman dialect spoken in England, in forms including Haim. This became one source of the English surname Haim, along with variants like Hame, Haim, Haime, Haimes, Hains, Haines, Hayns, Haynes, Hammon and Hammond.
In 1881, three people in Great Britain bore the surname Haim and 67 the surname Haime. Around 2011, the numbers stood at 94 and 173 respectively, with two bearers of the surname Haim in Ireland.

People with the given name

Haim

Hayim or Hayyim

Hyam or Haym

Chaim

People with the surname

Haim

Hyam

Hayyim