Does your child have an unusual name?

amother

Indigo

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 10:48 am

amother wrote:

That is a common name in my family as well. There are also a few Gella's (Gela Blima, Lea Gela, etc) a Minka Mirel and a Tziry. Are we related?

Seems that not... LOL

Chayalle

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 11:02 am

amother wrote:

The weirdest I have heard was serach (as in serach bas asher ).
I also have family members with the name klonimus kalman.

I know a few Serach's and I don't think of the name as wierd. I guess the circles you are in and how many people you know with that name plays a role.

It's funny how some names can be unusual but with a positive connotation, and some unusual names invite bullying and teasing. I named one of my DD's Zehava. I think there's one other Zehava in her entire school. And yet she has never been teased about it, and in fact, she loves her name. She has thanked me many times for naming her Zehava instead of Golda - the great-grandmother she is named for.

Some names seem to just go...and some don't. Wonder why.

amother

Crimson

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 11:08 am

When we named our daughter Batsheva, it was an uncommon name. A few years later Rebbetzin Kanievsky was niftar. Now everyone is using it, but she's the only one in her class.//

This made me laugh! My name is Batsheva and it was so unusual that I was one of 2 Batshevas in the whole school. No one knew how to pronounce it or where it was from! And now its so common! Its taken me a while not to turn around when I hear the name being called because I'm so used to it mostly always being me!

amother

Tangerine

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 11:38 am

Sake wrote:

We wanted very badly to name a son for my father but his name is Sake pronounced (shacky) it's Dutch for Jacques but nobody would ever know how to say it. So ended up calling our last baby James. Dad's middle name is Zachariah but I didn't feel it was the same to name a middle name.

Jacques can also be Jacob/Yakov. Whilst James is a related name, it IS originally the name of a saint in the new testament. I wanted to name after my grandfather Jim, from James, but Jacob is a family name so we didn't.

amother

Tangerine

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 11:47 am

amother wrote:

My baby is Nechama Elisheva. I don't think there's another person with that combination in the world, but we call her just Nechama, which I thought was pretty common, but we don't know any others.

I'm sure there are lots of Nechama Elishevas - google brings up a few already Wink

It's a gorgeous name.

Fox

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 12:04 pm

I have a Nessie (Nessia) -- from "neis". I'd known one before her birth, and some circumstances surrounding her birth made it a good choice. I think it might be more common in EY, but I've only met a handful over the years.

She's never been teased about the name, to my knowledge, though lots of people want to know more about why she received the name.

The funny part is that the legendary Loch Ness monster in Scotland is often referred to as "Nessie," and they sell all kinds of souvenirs with "Nessie" emblazoned on them. My Nessie has collected a ton of them over they years. Her friends in HS did call her "Loch Ness" and "LochNess" is still part of her personal email address.

amother

Slateblue

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 1:14 pm

Chayalle wrote:

I love the name Serach, but the girl (well, woman now) I know who grew up in Israel with that name got teased about it a lot. In Hebrew, change the sin to a samech and it's the shoresh for "stinky" or "to stink". Sad

amother

Olive

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 1:36 pm

amother wrote:

Thats terrible then!
A name has to be given with sechel
There is an inyan not to give a child a name that they will be embaressed of...

amother

Purple

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 1:37 pm

It is so interesting to see the names people consider common vs. unusual!

I love, love, love the name Serach, as I am moved by the story of Serach bat Asher, but I have never ever heard it except in the parsha! I was afraid it would always be misspelled (Sarah) or mispronounced (See-rach?) especially as we are very much involved in English-speaking society. (Anon because I have discussed this IRL).

amother

Lavender

Mon, Jan 09 2017, 10:29 pm

I have a very unusual name, which I love and I've always loved it. I'm ffb, and most of my classmates had very typical names, but I was never teased. I've gotten so many compliments on my name, from Jews and non-Jews.

My dds all have less common, although not unusual names. I was surprised to find that they are each either the only one in the whole school with their name, or one of the only ones. I like that they're not one of 3 Malkies or Rivkys in their class.

RachelEve14

Tue, Jan 10 2017, 12:13 am

amother wrote:

you don't know any other Nechamas?

I have a Nechama, and a good friend in the neighborhood Nechama, and when we moved in she said "wow, it's the first time in my life there has been a Nechama in the neighborhood under 50 LOL

. My Nechama just now reported there is one other in her ulpana, but there were none in the elementary school. We live in a modern neighborhood but all our kids have classic names and are usually the "only" in their class.

shanie5

Tue, Jan 10 2017, 6:25 pm

My dil has an unusual combination of names. If you meet a/o with that combination, they are probably related. Shortly after my son got engaged to her, another son was interviewing for a yeshiva. The rosh yeshiva said to my son "I hear yur brother is a choson. Whats the kallahs name" My son told him her name and his response was "I have a dd by that name too. we are probably related." And they were!