This is just a theory, and I could be completely off, but I suspect that it could be because it was never as common as a Biblical name there in the past. While many Jews in
Israel give Biblical names to their children (especially the Orthodox), those names are actually really dated there. For example, I have a cousin named
Dina who was born in the US; when our young Israeli cousins found out, their response was that it was an "old-lady name."
Elisheva, the wife of
Aaron, is an incredibly minor and relatively unimportant character in the Old Testament (unlike the
Elizabeth in the New Testament). Because of that, I suspect that it may not have the same dated feeling as other Biblical names. So instead of naming their daughter
Esther after her grandmother, parents may be more likely to go with
Elisheva to honor her instead.
Esther was one of the most common names given to Israeli girls in the 1950s, and many of those Esthers are now becoming grandmothers.
Israel is mostly Sephardic Jewish and they name children after living relatives. I don't think that it is that unreasonable to assume that many of these Elishevas have a grandmother named
Ester or
Esther.
This message was edited 3/18/2019, 5:45 AM