1) In the old days, people preferred to give their children names that contain the
Name of G-d, or names that express praise and thanks to G-d. For example, the
prefix E-l in the names Elkana, Elchanan, Eliezer, Elazar; the prefix Y-h in the
names Yehoshua, Yehoyakim, Yehoyada; the suffix E-l in the names Shmuel,
Yerachmiel, Yechezkel; the suffix Y-h in the names Yeshayah, Ovadiah, etc.
2) When writing G-d’s name - for example, Elokim - a hyphen should be inserted
into the word [E-lohim].
3) Regarding names containing the Name of G-d, we are not obligated to insert a
hyphen between the letters constituting G-d’s Name (e.g., Shmue-l).
Nonetheless, some practice an extra degree of piety, and are accustomed to
insert a hyphen between the letters yud-hei or between the letters aleph-lamed.
4) For many names, we call the person by the corresponding nickname. For example,
Elchanan = Choneh; Eliyahu = Eli; Eliezer = Leizer; Gedalyahu = Gedalia; Yehudah
= Yud’l. The reason for this is that these names contain the Name of G-d.
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