Name of the Week: Levi

 

Origin:

Levi is a Hebrew name found in the Old Testament as the third son of Jacob and Leah. The meaning is not entirely certain, but it traditionally associated with the Hebrew verb lavah (לָוָה) "to be joined, attached, cleaved, associated, pledged." According to biblical tradition, Leah gave Levi this name as an expression of her hope for her marriage: "And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi" (Genesis 29:34). Levi was the founder of the Levite tribe, a priestly Jewish caste. According to Numbers 3, after the Exodus of Egypt, Moses was instructed by God to gather the Levites to serve as priests. Thus the tribe were responsible for Israel's worship, either serving as priests or taking up roles in administration. In the New Testament, Levi is the name of one of the apostles: Matthew the Evangelist. It isn't clear why St. Matthew is called Levi in the books of Luke and Mark. It may be simply that he was a member of the tribe of Levi*, or that Levi was his Hebrew name and Matthew was a name he acquired while dealing with Greek-speaking Roman administration.* Levi is also found as a surname -- a variant of Leavey (also spelled Levy, Levey, Lewy, Lewey) which comes from the Old English name Leofwig, made up of the elements leof "beloved, friend," and wig "warrior."

Usage:

Levi was first used in Britain in the late 16th century when Old Testament names became more common. It was principally regarded as a Jewish name, but was also used by non-Jewish families, particularly the working classes.  It became more common by the 19th century by which time it had established itself as a biblical staple. Data from the 1881 census (see image right) shows that the name Levi was well distributed across England, particularly in the industrial North West, as well as South Wales. It was little used in Scotland, however.  Rankings of the name Levi in England and Wales shows that the name was a top 100 staple in the mid-19th century, gradually declining by the turn of the 20th century.  1860: #82  1870: #91 1880: #105  1890: #163  1900: #165 By the 1940s, the name had declined dramatically in use, to just a handful each year, and by the 1960s, the name was commonly associated with Levi's denim jeans, founded by American businessman Levi Strauss.  As the decades have moved on, however, the association with the jeans brand has loosened, and Levi is counted among the resurgence of fashionable Old Testament choices such as Noah, Isaac, Reuben and Elijah.  In the US, Levi entered the top 100 in 2009 at #85. It had already been rising, but was perhaps given a boost when Matthew McConaughey gave the name to his eldest son the previous year in July 2008.  Internationally, Levi currently ranks #8 in the Netherlands, #26 in Australia, #40 in Canada (BC), #42 in the USA and #43 in New Zealand.  In Britain, however, the name is still quite underused. Since 1996, Levi has ranked between #140 and #170 in England and Wales, peaking at #144 (415 births) in 2010. In 2014, it ranked #152 (369 births) for boys and #2862 (8 births) for girls. In Scotland, Levi has always been quite rare, never reaching the top 200 until 2005. During the 1990s, it was almost as common for girls as it was for boys. In both 1994 and 2000, for example, it was given to seven boys and seven girls. Since then, however, it has decline for girls and moderately increased for boys. In 2015, Levi ranked #206 (25 births). It did not rank for girls.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Levi Parsons Morton (1824–1920), American banker and Vice President of the United States. * Levi Strauss (1829–1902), American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. * Levi Eshkol (1895–1969), third prime minister of Israel, Contemporary: * Keith Valentine Graham aka Levi Roots (b.1958), British-Jamaican reggae musician, television personality and celebrity chef. * Levi Leipheimer (b. 1973), American former professional road racing cyclist. Literature and Other Media: * Levi Everdene, a character in Thomas Hardy's novel Far From the Madding Crowd (1874). * Levi Ackerman, a character in the manga series Attack on Titan.

Variants:

Leevi (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

LEE-vī [key]

Possible diminutives:

Lee

Sibling Names:

Alba     Margot     Cora     Elsa     Orla     Atarah  Jude     Asher     Elias     Arlo     Isaac     Seth

Name Lists:

Popular Biblical   Ripe Renovations   Slim Softies

 

If you like Levi you may also like:    Ezra, Lyle, Moses, Soren, Eben, Linus, Eoin, Leon, Asa, Micah

 

Thanks to Dia for requesting this post.