Zelig

זעליג, זעליק

• Gender: Male
• Origin: Yiddish
• Meaning: blessed, holy, happy

• Zelig is a classic Yiddish name meaning "blessed," "holy," or "happy," and it was traditionally used as the Yiddish companion to the biblical name Asher. In Ashkenazi communities, it was common to pair a Hebrew name with a Yiddish equivalent, and Zelig served as the joyful echo of Asher's own meaning of happiness. It is a name bursting with good-natured warmth and old-world Jewish character.

  Old Yiddish names with personality to spare are having a quiet moment, and this one leads the pack. Woody Allen's 1983 mockumentary "Zelig" turned this name into a cultural touchstone, telling the story of a man so eager to fit in that he literally transforms into whoever surrounds him. It has that irresistible quality of sounding both cuddly on a baby and distinguished on a grown man — a name that radiates joy and good fortune with every syllable.

• Alternate Spellings: Zellig, Selig, Zeylik, Zeilig, Zelik, Zelick, Selig
• Potential Sibling Name:
  Fruma
  ,
  Hinda
  ,
  Hersh
  ,
  Avrum
• Theme: blessing