Question 182: Where does the name “Hebrews” come from?

Answer:

It is held by the best authorities and by the Jews themselves that the name is derived from Heber or Eber (which means "from the other side" or a sojourner or immigrant). Heber was the son of Salah and the father of Peleg (see Genesis 10:24, 11:14 and 1 Chronicles 1:19). Abram was the first to be called a Hebrew (Genesis 14:13), presumably in the immigrant sense. The name is seldom used of the Israelites in the Old Testament, except when the speaker is a foreigner or when the Israelites speak of themselves to one of another nation. Some writers have held that Hebrew is derived from Abraham (Abrai), but this explanation is not generally adopted.