Ehud ( he, אֵהוּד) is a Biblical given name, currently common in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The etymology is unknown. The name "Ehud" was not attested as a first name among Jews until the 20th century.

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

, as part of its nation-building process—encouraged the use of names of Jewish heroes and warriors of ancient times, such as Ehud, and as a result, it has become a common name in contemporary Israel. Two prime ministers of Israel have had it as a first name:

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...

and

Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...

. Israelis named Ehud are often nicknamed "Udi". While the earliest known use is the Hebrew judge, the etymology is unknown. According to

Amos Hakham Amos Hakham ( he, עמוס חכם) (1921 – 2 August 2012) was the first winner of the International Bible Contest, who went on to become a Bible scholar and editor of the Da'at Miqra Bible commentary. Biography Amos Hakham was born in Jerusa ...

, medieval rabbis favored one of two improbable explanations. Some, like the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( he , ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman'') known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון ''Der Vilner Gaon'', pl, Gaon z Wilna, lt, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of ...

, claimed that the original name was (Eħud), but the letter '' ħet'' had become a '' he'' and thus relates to 'unity' . Others claimed that the name relates to 'glory' . The modern Israeli Hebrew verb, 'he sympathized' is unrelated to the Biblical name Ehud.Klein, ''Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language''

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda ( he, אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֵּן־יְהוּדָה}; ; born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman, 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922) was a Russian–⁠Jewish linguist, grammarian, and journalist, renowned as the lexicographer of ...

coined this verb, deriving it from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

cognate ''hawadah'', 'he treated with indulgence' or kindness. None of the above claims are accepted by contemporary linguists as legitimate etymologies or translations for the name.Hebrew Language Detective: ohad and ehud
Balashon (2007-01-16). Retrieved on 2012-05-26. ;Ehud can refer to the following people: * Ehud (Ehud ben Gera), Hebrew judge in the Book of Judges *

, Israeli prime minister from 2006 to 2009 *

, Israeli prime minister from 1999 to 2001, minister of defense as of 2007 * Ehud "Udi" Adam, retired Israeli general *

Ehud Adiv Ehud "Udi" Adiv ( he, אהוד "אודי" אדיב) (born June 21, 1946) is an Israeli political scientist and was a lecturer at the Open University of Israel. In his youth, he was a left-wing anti-Zionist activist who was eventually convicted of ...

, Israeli, formerly a pro-Palestinian political activist * Ehud Avriel (1917–1980), Israeli politician and diplomat *

Ehud Banai Ehud Banai ( he, אֵהוּד בַּנַּאי; born March 31, 1953) is an Israeli singer and songwriter. Biography Ehud Banai was born in Jerusalem. His father was the actor Yaakov Banai, one of the Banai siblings. The family moved to Givatayim ...

(born 1953), Israeli singer and songwriter * Ehud Hrushovski, Israeli mathematician *

Ehud Manor Ehud Manor (Hebrew: אהוד מנור; born Ehud Weiner; July 13, 1941 – April 12, 2005) was an Israeli lyricist, translator, poet and radio and TV personality. He is widely considered to have been Israel's most prolific lyricist of all time, h ...

(died 2005), Israeli poet and TV personality * Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist *

Ehud Shapiro Ehud Shapiro ( he, אהוד שפירא; born 1955) is a multi-disciplinary scientist, artist, entrepreneur and Professor of Computer Science and Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science. With international reputation, he made fundamental cont ...

, Israeli scientist *

Ehud Sheleg Sir Ehud “Udi” Sheleg (; born November 1955) is a British-Israeli businessman, art dealer and political figure. Early life Sheleg was born in Tel Aviv, Israel but is quoted saying “I was brought up, albeit in Israel, with the sentiment of ...

, British-Israeli art dealer *

Ehud R. Toledano Ehud R. Toledano is professor of Middle East history at Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. ...

, Professor of Middle East history at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

and University Chair for Ottoman & Turkish Studies * Ehud Tenenbaum, Israeli hacker *

Ehud Vaks Ehud "Udi" Vaks ( he, אהוד "אודי" וקס; born 27 June 1979) is an Israeli judoka. Vaks won a bronze medal at the 1998 under-20 World Judo Championships in the under 60 kg weight class. 2004 Olympics In the 2004 Summer Olympi ...

, Israeli judo athlete

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehud Hebrew masculine given names