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Help[Opinions] Are these names appropriate?
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Then perhaps it depends on whether you anticipate your readers to be largely from Israel.
I read a jewish book about a sweet girl named Chaya. I also like Lev. Alona is not my favorite simply because it sounds just like "alone."
For a non-jewish character? I think Lev could work.
For a non-jewish character? I think Lev could work.
No one I can think of would frown upon Chaya. I am from the US and I think it's a beautiful name.
I wouldn't expect everyone with a Hebrew name to be Jewish. The level of exposure a non-Jewish person (or character) has to various Hebrew names would depend on a variety of factors.
I personally would not feel it was inappropriate for me (as a non-Jewish person) to use names that seem familiar/intuitive to me. Lev is one of those; Chaya is not. For non-Jewish people more familiar than me with Kh and hard Ch sounds, maybe Chaya could be appropriate.
I personally would not feel it was inappropriate for me (as a non-Jewish person) to use names that seem familiar/intuitive to me. Lev is one of those; Chaya is not. For non-Jewish people more familiar than me with Kh and hard Ch sounds, maybe Chaya could be appropriate.
This message was edited 4/24/2025, 1:46 PM
It depends on the character.
I knew a Turkish Muslim guy called Lev; in his case it was short for Levent. So that would work.
Alona could work on other people; it looks vaguely trendy, like someone was getting creative with Alana or the word "alone" for a name.
Chaya might work on a gentile African-American character. It reminds me of names like Inaya, Ayana and Kaia.
I knew a Turkish Muslim guy called Lev; in his case it was short for Levent. So that would work.
Alona could work on other people; it looks vaguely trendy, like someone was getting creative with Alana or the word "alone" for a name.
Chaya might work on a gentile African-American character. It reminds me of names like Inaya, Ayana and Kaia.
Alona might be, it's that close to Ilona or Alana.
Chaya and Lev, well, there would need to be some reason why non-Jewish people had those names, and explaining it would bog down the sstory. You could go with say, Kaia and Levi.
Chaya and Lev, well, there would need to be some reason why non-Jewish people had those names, and explaining it would bog down the sstory. You could go with say, Kaia and Levi.