Lior

Art by Simon Claude

Origin: Hebrew
Gender: Male
Meaning: "Light for Me"
Pronunciation: lee-OR
Other Forms: Liora, Liorit

A favorite of mine ever since Christina Aguilera used it as a middle name for her son, Lior would make an excellent choice for a baby born during Hanukkah, or as it's sometimes know, The Festival of Lights.

Lior, which means "Light for Me", could easily represent the lighting of the Menorah. The Menorah is a nine-branched candelabrum, with eight candles that are lit each night of the celebration, with the ninth candle being used to light the others. To those who are kosher, the shamash (which means "helper" or "assistant"), or the ninth candle, must be placed either lower or higher than the other candles. Hanukkah itself is a celebration of the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 164 BCE. To put it very simply, the Jewish, led by the Maccabees, a group of five brothers, revolted against the Greek and the growing Hellenization of Judea. Afterwards they cleansed the temple and burned a lamp that only had one day's worth of oil left, yet it miraculously burned for eight days. Now, menorahs are lit and put into windows so others can see, and remember, the miracle of Hanukkah.