Israel

• pronounced "IZ-rayel" - (this name is familiar to many of us because it's the name of a Mideastern country, but it is, also, a name for the Jewish people - the people of Yisrael. The name means "struggled with God", after Jacob's legendary struggle with an angel of God in the Bible, and it is an apt name for men in our day and age. Jacob had been graced with the name Israel after the struggle.
• if I recall my biblical history, it was the name given to Jacob after he did something really important. I like it because it's unusual (and because it belongs to a veeerrrry good-looking guy).

This comes from the Hebrew Yisra'el meaning "God contended" or "struggled with God." In the Old Testament Jacob is given the name Israel after he wrestled with the angel.

Your Favorite Names