# Zev: Is "Zev" short for a longer name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 12, 2005, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724 "2005-02-12T08:47:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/1 "2005-02-12T08:47:28Z")
I met a guy named “Zev” last weekend - not \*our \* Zev, of course, but it got me thinking. Is “Zev” a short form for a longer name (“Zebidiah” or “Zebedee”, maybe?), or is it a stand-alone name? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/2 "2005-02-12T08:53:43Z")
And of course I just realised that tomorrow is Saturday, so there’s no chance of hearing from Zev until Sunday. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/3 "2005-02-12T08:57:09Z")
Zev is a stand-alone name, not a nickname. It’s a fairly common man’s name in Israel. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/4 "2005-02-12T08:58:23Z")
Incidentally, “Zev” means “wolf” in Hebrew. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/5 "2005-02-12T09:53:10Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > Incidentally, “Zev” means “wolf” in Hebrew. Almost - it’s the Yiddish version of the Hebrew “Ze’ev” (two syllables). ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/6 "2005-02-12T18:09:40Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > - not \*our \* Zev, of course, it just occurred to me that “our Zev” is also, I think, the only doper whose screen name could also be his real name. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/7 "2005-02-12T18:38:07Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > it just occurred to me that “our Zev” is also, I think, the only doper whose screen name could also be his real name. Not by a long shot. I can think of at least two others who use their real names (assuming Zev uses his real name) - or shortened versions thereof. I’ll let them speak for themselves, if they wish, because a) it’s not my place, and b) I may be wrong about one of them. \>\_\> And, of course, the two I’m thinking of are almost definitely not the only ones. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/8 "2005-02-12T19:11:20Z")
Hijack. Is Zev etymologically related to Zvi/Tzvi? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/9 "2005-02-12T19:37:42Z")
> [@Ace309](#): > > Hijack. > > Is Zev etymologically related to Zvi/Tzvi? Only in the sense that they’re both animals. Zvi means Deer. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/10 "2005-02-12T19:45:02Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > it just occurred to me that “our Zev” is also, I think, the only doper whose screen name could also be his real name. Nope. I remember a thread discussing the reasons why people wanted to stay anonymous on internet boards, and several posters mentionned that their nicknames was actually their real names. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/11 "2005-02-12T19:50:11Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > And of course I just realised that tomorrow is Saturday, so there’s no chance of hearing from Zev until Sunday. :smack: I think a new internet “law” is warranted, stating that any question adressed to practising Jews is to be posted during the sabbath… ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/12 "2005-02-12T20:21:58Z")
Yeah, that forces us half-assed Jews to carry the load. Man, this thing is heavy! ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/13 "2005-02-12T20:28:37Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Only in the sense that they’re both animals. Zvi means Deer. Thank you. I had just sort of assumed they were geographical variants of the same name. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/14 "2005-02-12T20:51:40Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > it just occurred to me that “our Zev” is also, I think, the only doper whose screen name could also be his real name. Wanna bet? ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/15 "2005-02-12T23:55:22Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > Yeah, that forces us half-assed Jews to carry the load. > > Man, this thing is heavy! You’re too modest. You have an entire ass. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/16 "2005-02-13T16:41:18Z")
Zev is a corrupted version of Ze-AYV, meaning (as others have pointed out), wolf. Tzvi is a different name, meaning “deer.” (which, incidentally, is my father’s name). Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zev-is-zev-short-for-a-longer-name/289724/17 "2005-02-13T17:14:17Z")
I thought it was short for “Zevulon”. I kid! I kid!