Having an english name

chen

Sat, Nov 12 2005, 10:39 pm

LubavitchLeah wrote:

Chen youre post has me laughing here. If I pronounce your nick, CHEN, the way its spelt in english as you did with those names, could it be Chinese perhaps? Smile

)

Well, I have been told on occasion that I look Chinese...usually by people of Nordic descent. I guess all non-Nordics look alike to them Rolling Eyes

Rivka

Sat, Nov 19 2005, 7:56 pm

Hadasa I am not taking offense, I think you are. The reason I got that Yiddish was holy was because Jews used it to transalate the torah and learn in that language and so if that is the case, English is also a holy language.
I wasn't sitting there saying what they are saying isn't true.

realeez

Mon, Jun 26 2006, 2:23 pm

shanie5 wrote:

motek- I do know someone who named their son yirmiya, but my son was named after his great gandfather yirmiyahu. never heard of a conflict w/ that though. and I know a few other yirmiyahu's

anybody else know anything about this?

I know that this is a very old thread but it is really interesting! my brother is yirmiyahu after a grandfather too.
some ppl change some names to take off the vav at the end if the person died tragically like yeshayahu from navi is changed to yeshaya. some hold that if naming akiva to end it w/ a Hey instead of Aleph to make a change or put another name after. I can ask my dh for the source for this - we were looking at various teshuvos for naming for this last baby.

shalhevet

Mon, Jun 26 2006, 2:45 pm

The name I was called in shul is Yiddish (after my grandmother), but my parents didn't like the name so they called me an "English" name which is actually Hebrew (biblical) for my birth certificate and all other use. Confused

I am still called by this and it actually bothers me because like, which is my real name?

It also caused a whole shaila on the kesuva as well. In the end we were told to write ___________ (Yiddish name which noone uses) demikrei (who is called) ______________ (my Hebrew- English name)

Anyway we are now BH in EY so only Hebrew names for our kids. My dh is extremely makpid to call the exact name (2 names = 2 names, no short forms /nicknames) Some rabbanim say that if you don't use a name it is as if you never gave it.

nicole81

Mon, Jun 26 2006, 4:40 pm

We came to a compromise this time around. With my daughter, her english name is completely different, but our choices of names for this child are hebrew and/or yiddish names that actually pass off quite well as english names. My husband seems to like it this way better.

Ruchel

Mon, Jun 26 2006, 6:45 pm

Officially I have 3 names, the French way, my first is French and for every day use (although it is also the translation of a Salonician ancestress Clara), my second is French and honours a family branch my mother loves (it is close in sound), my third is Hebrew and is my Jewish name I have on my ketuba. It is the Hebrew translation of the name of my grandmother (Ruchel).

Both my parents have French and Jewish names but only my maternal grandmom has a secular name.

Dh has only david because his parents wanted "david ben ishai" (yes we plan on using shlomo).

We plan on giving only Jewish names (hebrew, yiddish and ladino), probably 4 for each kid because I have many people to name after, and of course we use only the first one in every day life ("Chaya Chinka Bubbe Reisel, come here!!" :p Smile

supermom

Tue, Jun 27 2006, 4:51 am

Ruchel wrote:

Dh has only david because his parents wanted "david ben ishai" (yes we plan on using shlomo).

I know of someone that that is the way he calls himself. I never thought that I would hear that name being called again.

Ruchel

Tue, Jun 27 2006, 9:56 am

chen wrote:

Dinah--pronounced DYE-nuh--is an English version of a Hebrew name
Levi--pronounced LEE-vye--is an English version of a Hebrew name
Just like Rachel, Daniel, Sarah, Leah...
.

This is so annoying when they mispronounce our names...

happy2beme

Tue, Jun 27 2006, 10:00 am

Quote:

shanie5 wrote:
motek- I do know someone who named their son yirmiya, but my son was named after his great gandfather yirmiyahu. never heard of a conflict w/ that though. and I know a few other yirmiyahu's

anybody else know anything about this?

I know that this is a very old thread but it is really interesting! my brother is yirmiyahu after a grandfather too.
some ppl change some names to take off the vav at the end if the person died tragically like yeshayahu from navi is changed to yeshaya. some hold that if naming akiva to end it w/ a Hey instead of Aleph to make a change or put another name after. I can ask my dh for the source for this - we were looking at various teshuvos for naming for this last

This is what I learned also

amother

Tue, Jun 27 2006, 10:04 am

Wow.We have an Akiva (with an aleph at the end) and I love the name. We also always ask a rav (who is very knowledgeable about names) before naming and he said Akiva is a very good name and never said anything about spelling it with a hey.

Anonymous since it is not such a common name.

amother

Tue, Jun 27 2006, 10:15 am

We have some kids with difficult hebrrew names so we gave them english names.We now feel that with some it was a mistake.One we still would b/c it's cumbersome & difficult.Others it's just phoenetic & we would ( & did) do differently with younger kids.My dh did insist on giving english middle names "in case they ever want to use it". I humored him.But look around at some of the names in the secular world.

amother

Tue, Jun 27 2006, 1:25 pm

where I live everyone has names like aisling, caoimhe, roisin, saoirse, alannah, Niamh, oisin, padraig etc. Except for alannah (which I thought was a hebrew name when I first heard it) I bet none of you have a clue how they are pronounced. It's taken me a few years to figure it out myself.

Next to Caoimhe, Shayna and Mendel look quite easy.

Mommy3.5

Wed, Jul 05 2006, 5:40 pm

All three of my kids have english and hebrew names....none of them have an identity crisis. LOL

They know both names and respond accordingly. Also two of thier names are exact translations of the hebrew, the third there was no translation so a name that was similar to his name was chosen. We'll do the same thing for this baby IYH. Also , two of my children are named for living realitives, they were given the hebrew name of my FIL and My husbands grandfather, and the english name that both of those people go by. Our oldest son is affectionately called by his english name, because he is Named after FIL, who is called the same way. He can spell his hebrew name in english and hebrew and also his english nickname, in fact he writes it on all his papers...(he is 5) .

Another reason for the english names, is that you fill out the birth certificate info in the hospital, and I did not want to put down thier hebrew names before the brit....

Ruchel

Wed, Jul 05 2006, 8:35 pm

Crayon210 wrote:

There isn't an issue with putting down a secular name before a bris?

I don't know, but I do know many people write the secular name before the bris, or even the Hebrew one if it's the same, as you have to declarate the child in the 2 days after birth, or you'll go through a whole trial... I know of one couple who decided to go through the trial instead of writing the name earlier though.

bandcm

Wed, Jul 05 2006, 9:12 pm

We asked a rav before my son's bris and he said it was okay to write his (Hebrew) name on the birth certificate, but not to use it yet.
As to English names, why in the world is it more convenient to have an English name??? Let them get used to it! They are used to Latoya and Latisha and Yussuf and Chi Chung, but you're afraid of inconveniencoing the non jews by calling your child Chava?
And if they can't pronounce the ches, let them say it with an "h". A classmate of mine went through many years of school being called Hannie by some of our non-Jewish teachers, and I don't think she is permanently damaged by it. If anything, she learned pride in who she is and in her Jewish name which her parents didn't change, not even for Mrs. X, the history teacher.