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BEN HAYIM Origin of surname
BEN HAYIM
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name may be a patronymic, derived from a male ancestor's personal name.
The Hebrew word for "life", Hay(y)im was a popular personal name which became widespread throughout the Diaspora as a family name. Ben Hay(y)im is a Hebrew patronymic meaning "son of Hayyim", while Ibn Hayyim is the Arabic equivalent. Hayyim does not appear as a name in the Bible. It is first mentioned in 850 CE as a synonym for Hiyya. Since there was a person called Hiyya (the Aramaic translation of Hayyim) living during Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi in the 3rd century, it is apparent that the name Hayyim in its different forms - Hai, Hiyya, Yihye, and the feminine Haya - can be traced to that early period. It first appears in the Bible as a word when God creates man out of dust and breathes 'nishmat hayyim', ("the breath of life") into his nostrils (Genesis 2.7). Hayyim appears in its different forms - Hai, Hiyya, Yihye, and the feminine Haya. In the Middle Ages, it became a popular practice among Ashkenazi Jews to add Hayyim to a personal name either during circumcision or, in the event of sickness or danger, later on in life. This was done to ensure health and long life. Among Sephardi Jews, Hai/Chai ("alive") is still a popular additional name while Yihye ("he will live") was widespread among Yemenite Jews. In the course of Jewish wanderings, the name Hayyim was influenced by local pronunciation - becoming, for example, Aim or Haym in Spain, Heim or Hayems in Germany and Alsace, Chajjim in Turkey, Hagin in England. It was translated into Latin as Vives, Vita, Vidal, and into Arabic as Yaish and Ayash. Under German and Yiddish influence Vives became Feives, Feis, Feivush and even Feischel.
Ben Hayim is recorded as a Jewish family name with the 15th century Spanish-born Rabbi Barouch Ben Hayim and the 19th century Moroccan Rabbi Yaacob Ben Hayim.
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name may be a patronymic, derived from a male ancestor's personal name.
The Hebrew word for "life", Hay(y)im was a popular personal name which became widespread throughout the Diaspora as a family name. Ben Hay(y)im is a Hebrew patronymic meaning "son of Hayyim", while Ibn Hayyim is the Arabic equivalent. Hayyim does not appear as a name in the Bible. It is first mentioned in 850 CE as a synonym for Hiyya. Since there was a person called Hiyya (the Aramaic translation of Hayyim) living during Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi in the 3rd century, it is apparent that the name Hayyim in its different forms - Hai, Hiyya, Yihye, and the feminine Haya - can be traced to that early period. It first appears in the Bible as a word when God creates man out of dust and breathes 'nishmat hayyim', ("the breath of life") into his nostrils (Genesis 2.7). Hayyim appears in its different forms - Hai, Hiyya, Yihye, and the feminine Haya. In the Middle Ages, it became a popular practice among Ashkenazi Jews to add Hayyim to a personal name either during circumcision or, in the event of sickness or danger, later on in life. This was done to ensure health and long life. Among Sephardi Jews, Hai/Chai ("alive") is still a popular additional name while Yihye ("he will live") was widespread among Yemenite Jews. In the course of Jewish wanderings, the name Hayyim was influenced by local pronunciation - becoming, for example, Aim or Haym in Spain, Heim or Hayems in Germany and Alsace, Chajjim in Turkey, Hagin in England. It was translated into Latin as Vives, Vita, Vidal, and into Arabic as Yaish and Ayash. Under German and Yiddish influence Vives became Feives, Feis, Feivush and even Feischel.
Ben Hayim is recorded as a Jewish family name with the 15th century Spanish-born Rabbi Barouch Ben Hayim and the 19th century Moroccan Rabbi Yaacob Ben Hayim.