If the family is of Ashkenazi origin, they might name a child after a deceased family member in order to perpetuate that person's memory. A Sephardi or Oriental Jewish family will name a firstborn in honor of a living grandparent. Ideology too is reflected in the choice of names. In identification with national heroes in the early days of the State of Israel, the name Herzl and the names of the first prime ministers were particularly common. During our long history, the Jewish people honored gentile benefactors by naming their children after them.
Linked names are quite common in the Jewish tradition.
Some given names express good luck and fortune, either in Hebrew or in foreign equivalents that have been accepted as traditional Jewish names. Not since the biblical period have we witnessed such an explosion of innovative and diverse Jewish names as the one which characterizes the renaissance of the Hebrew language and the birth of the State of Israel. Of course these names can be shortened by eliminating one of the linguistic elements giving us Nathan, Dan and Eli. The study of Hebrew first names provides us an opportunity to explore our familial, religious, cultural, and ideological identity. So, too, does it shed light on how our parents and grandparents viewed themselves and their offspring, in that continuum we call the Jewish experience.