Why 'Zohan', not 'Zohar'?


Zohan isn't a name; Zohar is a common Israeli name? Why go out of one's way to use a non-existent name when a common one is so close?


When you think of garbage, think of Hakim!

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Too ethnic and alien for an American audience.

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And "Zohan" isn't?

When you think of garbage, think of Hakim!

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Because Adam Sandler is a typical American Jew; that is to say he is secular and wouldn't know the Zohar from the Mishnah. He is ignorant and probably thinks that being Jewish means eating his mother's gefilte fish and snoring through another seder. I could go on...............

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But I though the character's name was simply Zohar, a common enough Hebrew name. Is there a mention in the movie of the Book of Zohar?

When you think of garbage, think of Hakim!

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The character's name was "Zohan". There is no name "Zohan", either Torah (Biblical) or otherwise. Sandler just thought the name sounded "cool", is my guess,or perhaps one of the other two writers invented it. I wouldn't be surprised if Sandler didn't even know the significance of his own last name.

As an aside, years ago I lived on Kibbutz Manara in the north of Israel. There was a kibbutznik named Zohar, a stunningly beautiful woman. Her husband was a real dipsh*t and he cheated on her with a dumpy German volunteer worker. Hmmm, kind of reminds me of the previous governor of Kalifornia..........

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Because some people have original names? My name is Antanis, I can't say I've ever heard of anyone else called that.

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Godzilla, it's not a matter of originality; it's that there's no such Hebrew name, either first or last. There is, however, the name Zohar, which is common. See nagmashDriver's comment above.


"When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!"

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So what? There are people called Allan even though the correct spelling is Alan. His name is Zohan, that was the name he was given at birth, a name doesn't have to be a name that previously existed, a name can be new, all names never existed until one person was given them which would make them new at that point in time end of story, cry a river, build a bridge, get over it! -_-

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Because he has super human powers like that of Goku and Gohan, a pretty well known anime to Americans. If it was not for this very reason, then I have no idea. This was just a guess.

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Arvin, yours is the first reply that makes any sense. Had to look up Gohan, but there it is. Wonder how many actually got the reference...


"When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!"

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It is plausible that it could be a reference. I mean throughout the whole movie I thought "Wow, this guy has superhuman powers!" and then I thought "Zo-han...han..han...HAN! Dragon Ballz"

But why not Zoku nor Ziccolo nor Zegeta?

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No idea. They thought "Zohan" sounded like it could be Hebrew?


"When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!"

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Definitely. Really, when I had watched the show, I could not really pinpoint where the suffix "Han" would come from. In fact, there are many names that one can tell the ethnic group from, just by name. I wish I really knew.

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