Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Menachem

Menachem is a Hebrew name borne from the Bible as one of the lesser known Kings of Israel (the northern kingdom). In Hebrew the name (מְנַחֵם) means “comforter” or “the consoler”. We must admit, we’re a little perplexed by the Hebrew etymology of this name considering Menachem’s Biblical story (told in 2 Kings 15:14-22). Menachem’s ten-year reign was during a period of Israel’s history when it seemed almost all the kings were doing “what was evil in the sight of the Lord” and Menachem, as far as we can tell, was no different. After Shallum killed Zachariah (who had also done evil in the eyes of the Lord), Shallum made himself king. Apparently Menachem didn’t like this order of events one bit, and so he came to Samaria (the then-capital of the Kingdom of Israel) to kill Shallum and lay siege on the throne. This all went down sometime in the middle of the 8th century B.C. Once king, Menachem brutally put down revolts against him, killed people and “ripped open all the women…who were pregnant.” (2 Kings 15:16). Pretty gnarly, in our opinion. He also took money from his wealthy citizens to pay-off the Assyrian King and keep him out of Israel. Menachem’s reign wasn’t exactly a “comforting” one for the people of Israel, but it was consistent with Israel’s larger problems (i.e., God wasn’t so happy with His people anymore). After Menachem, there would only be three more Kings of Israel before God let the depraved kingdom fall to the Assyrians. The people of Israel were exiled never to be heard from again (this is where we get the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel). In other words, God had had enough. Fortunately, the Kingdom of Judah was still surviving, but they had problems of their own (that’s a whole other story). In any case, given the rather unfortunate reign of Menachem we were surprised to see such a name in circulation among Jewish people. Just consider Menachem Begin, the former Prime Minister of Israel (1977-1983). Perhaps the name is bestowed in an act of modesty and a humble remembrance of how NOT to behave.

All About the Baby Name – Menachem

Personality

OF THE BOY NAME MENACHEM

The number Eight personality has everything to do with power, wealth and abundance. Somehow, this personality has been blessed on the material plane, but their authoritative and problem-solving traits provide evidence that their good fortunes are not just the luck of the lottery. They are well earned. This is the personality of CEOs and high-ranking military personnel. Eights are intensely active, hard-driving individuals. Success is only meaningful to them after a job well-done.  They are remarkable in their ability to see the larger picture right down to the smallest details, and organize a strategy around success. They then have the ability to direct a group around them toward any goal, and realize individual potential to get the most out of their team.

Popularity

OF THE BOY NAME MENACHEM

We were at least “comforted” by the fact that Menachem has never been a hugely popular name in the United States. Distinctly Hebrew, this is a name not generally used outside of the Jewish-American community. And given Menachem’s unfortunate reign, we have to believe that the name is bestowed in honor of Nobel Peace Prize winning Menachem Begin at this point. First appearing on the American male naming charts in 1994, Menachem continues to reside near the bottom of the list. This name has never achieved anything higher than position #834 on the charts and continues to fall off the Top 1000 list sporadically. This is a name barely in circulation today, and the average American is completely unaware of Menachem’s little known reign as the King of Israel almost 3000 years ago! Regardless of all this expressed negativity, we can say one thing for sure. Menachem has a very positive etymology. For that reason alone, we say thumbs-up!

Quick Facts

ON MENACHEM

GENDER:

Boy

ORIGIN:

Hebrew

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

3

RANKING POPULARITY:

N/A

PRONUNCIATION:

mә-NAH-kәm

SIMPLE MEANING:

The consoler, comforter

Characteristics

OF MENACHEM

Authoritative

Powerful

Tough

Tenacious

Wealthy

Problem-solver

Achiever

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Menachem

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME MENACHEM

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Menachem

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME MENACHEM

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Menachem


Popular Songs

ON MENACHEM

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Menachem


Famous People

NAMED MENACHEM

Menachem Begin (Prime Minister of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize winner)

Children of Famous People

NAMED MENACHEM

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Menachem

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME MENACHEM

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Menachem