Hard to pronounce names- Yechezkel

amother

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 8:13 am

I’m expecting my first bH and thinking about names. We’re right-wing Modern Orthodox in the NY-area and the relative we have the most desire to name for was DH’s grandfather Yechezkel. Other grandfather names are Aryeh and Tzvi, but not as meaningful.

Saba Yechezkel was frum despite surviving Auschwitz and was a kind and gentle man and DH has a special relationship with him. Almost all of my family isn’t frum (we’re really close though) and would have a really hard time pronouncing the name. I can imagine them trying to put on a good face but being disappointed. I know we could do as a second name but I feel like it takes away from the specialness- any thoughts, suggestions or anyone who’s dealt with this? Any ways to spell the name it would be easier, like maybe Yehezkel? I’d be open to doing an English name like Zeke or Zach.

amother

Navy

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 8:15 am

Don't do a second name, just put a secular name on birth ceritficate. We did that with my Tzvi (which, BTW, is impossible to say). If anyone not jewish/can't pronounce the tzadi-veis combo asks what his name is, we say "Steve".
And do Zach! Its way cooler than Zeke!/
Bshaa tova!

amother

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 8:17 am

amother [ Navy ] wrote:

Is it bad to have Zach if our last name starts with a K? Open to other English name options. I love Tzvi/Steve! So smart

amother

Navy

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 8:21 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Is it bad to have Zach if our last name starts with a K? Open to other English name options. I love Tzvi/Steve! So smart

Zachy...? But I think it's fine

amother

Royalblue

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 9:52 am

Go for it. Name your son the name you want. Even on the birth certificate. People will learn. People will respect him for it. By us sephardim it is pronounced Yeheskel.

When we named one of our children Petachya the Rav spoke during the seuda. His first sentence was that he will be our defense lawyers for how we name our children. (All our children have very Jewish sounding names) and he spoke beautifully about our children's names and what significance it all house. Go for it. So that when you say your son's name it gives your pride!!!

essie14

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 10:54 am

I would put an English name on the birth certificate. If you are going to call him by a nickname like Zeke (I like that the best) or Zack, just put that on the birth certificate.

dancingqueen

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 10:56 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

That’s the easiest solution, give him one of those English names, and yechezkel can be his Hebrew name.

BetsyTacy

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 10:59 am

Why Zach when that is for Zachary/Zecharia?
Zeke is the nickname for Ezekiel which is Yechezkel.

I only have Hebrew names on birth certificates but since Yechezkel is a toughy, and you are concerned, I would give Zeke, which is cool sounding, simple to pronounce, and a legit nickname for his Hebrew name (it could even be the nickname you use).

I see amother lime said this all before me.

Well, I second the nomination.

amother

Maroon

Mon, Jan 27 2020, 1:58 pm

singleagain wrote:

So funny that I see this here - I literally just saw her talk about this at a professional development course last week!

The name has a very interesting lilt to it, and it's not easy to say, but she's right: names are very personal, and the onus is on others to learn how to pronounce it.

Aylat

Mon, Jan 27 2020, 3:27 pm

amother [ Navy ] wrote:

And do Zach! Its way cooler than Zeke!/
Bshaa tova!

But Zach is the equivalent of Zecharia whereas Zeke is short for Ezekiel which is the equivalent of Yechezkel.

ETA Oops sorry, see that others already said that.

nchr

Mon, Jan 27 2020, 3:31 pm

If you want, just choose a random English name that you or your family like such as Darren, Ezekiel, Bear, Hunter, Max, etc. and do Yechezkel for the Hebrew name. However, I know a few people named Chesky who work in the secular world without issue.

Last edited by nchr on Thu, Feb 06 2020, 3:48 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Aqua

Thu, Feb 06 2020, 3:43 pm

My mother in law put the Hebrew names down on the birth certificates for all her children. Some of them dont care, some of them the Hebrew name is spelled the same as the English version so it really didn't matter much but one brother in law who has a biblical name that is hard to pronounce but also has a very common secular translation ended up legally changing his name after getting frustrated that no one knew how to properly say his name.

As much as we all like to keep it traditional and it makes no sense why the secular world can get away with giving strange names to their children while when we use our Hebrew names we get looked at funny and made fun of.
We end up doing our children a favor by giving them the English version of their name, a random secular name or just a really easy nickname for them to use.

When giving a name like Yechezkel it might not feel right in the beginning to give Zach or Zeke but your child will definitely be grateful later on that you did this for him especially if he will be growing up with relatives who will have a hard time saying the "ch" sound.

amother

Lilac

Thu, Feb 06 2020, 4:44 pm

I have a "ch" name. 3 of my kids have the "ch" in their name. My name is butchered at work, but I am totally ok with it. Really doesn't faze me. I don't think my kids care when their names are mispronounced.

The difference is both my family and my husband's family can pronounce it. It just the outside world and people at work who can't.