Chai is the Hebrew word for "alive". According to Kabbalah, the name Hayim helps the person to remain healthy, and people were known to add Hayim as their second name to improve their health.
In the United States, Chaim is a common spelling; however, since the phonemic pattern is unusual for English words, Hayim is often used as an alternative spelling. The "ch" spelling comes from transliteration of the Hebrew letter "chet", which also starts words like Chanukah, Channa, etc., which can also be spelled as Hanukah and Hannah. It is cognate to the Arabic word حياة (ḥayāh), with the same meaning, deriving from the same Proto-Semitic root.
Hebrew letters are also used as numerals, and the Hebrew letters that spell "chai" also stand for the number 18. Thus, 18 is considered a lucky number in Jewish culture. It is common to give gifts and contributions to charity in multiples of 18.
Among Argentine Jews, the Spanish name Jaime (Spanish: [ˈxajme], a Spanish cognate of James) is often chosen for its phonetic similarity to Haim.
Hayim is a non-governmental organisation that works on a voluntary basis to provide relief and support for pediatric oncology patients in Israel.
The names Vivian and Zoe have a similar meaning.
The L'Chaim Toast
L'Chaim in Hebrew is a toast meaning "to Life". When a couple becomes engaged, they get together with friends and family to celebrate. Since they drink l'chaim ("to Life"), the celebration is also called a l'chaim.
The origins of the custom to toast this way may be traced to an account described in the Talmud, where R. Akiva said upon pouring cups of wine poured at a banquet a benediction of "Wine and Life to the mouth of The Sages, Wine and Life to the mouth of The Sages and Their Students."
Many reasons for this custom have been offered.
One reason based on The Zohar is to wish that The Wine would be tied to The Tree of Life and not to The Tree of Death with which Eve had sinned.
A second reason brought forward is that there was a common practice to make people who intend to kill drink wine and thereby be calmed, and therefore there is a custom to proclaim "to Life!" over wine in the hope that it will prevent bloodshed.
A Third Reason is that wine was created to comfort those who are in mourning (based on Proverbs 31:6) and there emerged a practice to toast thus when drinking in sad times in the hope that one day the drinker will drink wine in good, happy times, and the practice of toasting this way subsequently extended to all situations.
Old German etymology
The earliest attested forms of this etymology occur in Old German, as Haimo. This Old German name was borrowed into Old French, including into the Anglo-Norman dialect spoken in England, in forms including Haim. This became one source of the English surname Haim, along with variants like Hame, Haim, Haime, Haimes, Hains, Haines, Hayns, Haynes, Hammon and Hammond.
In 1881, 3 people in Great Britain bore the surname Haim and 67 the surname Haime. Around 2011, the numbers stood at 94 and 173 respectively, with two bearers of the surname in Ireland.
