Caleb

[ˈkeɪləb]

Meaning

from Hebrew כָּלֵב (Kālēḇ), probably from כֶּלֶב (kelev), "dog"

Background Story

Behind the Name gives "dog" as the most likely source, with an alternate theory connecting the name to Hebrew כֹּל (kol), "whole, all of", and לֵב (lev), "heart". Wiktionary traces the English form through Late Latin Caleb and Koine Greek Χάλεβ (Kháleb) to Biblical Hebrew כָּלֵב (Kālēḇ), and records the same possible link to כֶּלֶב. As an English name it came into use after the Protestant Reformation and was common among the Puritans, who brought it to America in the 17th century.