Do you have a child with 3 names?

amother

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 5:56 pm

If we have a boy, DH and I think we will give him 3 names.
I don't want too but it just works out that way. However, and I know this isn't great to think about, but when a person gets sick CH"V sometimes a name is added. Should that be a reason not to give 3 names initially?

amother

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 6:05 pm

Are you going to call him by all three of them.

My son has three names, and none of them are one syllable (two are three syllables, one is only two). It's a long name, but I don't mind. We only call him by one name usually, the others he hears right before bedtime and he'll hear IY"H when he gets an aliyah.

Yes, I think the "adding a name" concern is...overthinking things?

We gave him three names because we were naming after someone who had two names, but who was niftar young. Our rav said to add a name. I like ds's names - all three of 'em Smile

happyone

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 6:08 pm

I usually try to stick to names I will call my child. What's the point of naming a child they will never be called by? One of my children is named after someone with two names who died young. Our Rabbi advised we add a third name. If I had the option, I would stick to one or two names. My child will probably never be called by the third name.

amother

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 6:17 pm

We would only call him by one name.
And one of the names happens to be Chaim....

louche

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 6:19 pm

Each of my kids has two given names, which is really one name too many, except when you want to pull the "angry TV Mom" stunt of calling the child by his full name to show your displeasure. "Barak Hussein Obama, what have you done?" sounds so much more ominous than "Barry, what'd you do?" And you know, you don't want to give him an "out," like maybe there are four other Barak Obamas on the block, so you give him the middle name so he can't claim he thought you meant one of the other Barak Obamas.

But THREE given names? Huh-uh. Two names ought to be enough for anyone.

life'sgreat

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 6:27 pm

I think thinking about that is really stretching (and I happen to know a child that has four names. Three after a grandfather, and Chaim) things a bit.

amother

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 7:40 pm

I have a son with three names. He's named for someone who passed away young, and then we added an extra name.

It never occurred to me that perhaps, someday, maybe, sometime in the future, it could possibly happen that they add another name. So...yeah - you're really stretching here.

amother

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 7:45 pm

I have a son with three names. My other son only has one, so it evens out Smile

(We only call him by one name though.)

doodlesmom

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 9:08 pm

I Myself have 3 names, and am called by one. I don't feel like it affects me in any way!

neverbored

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 9:17 pm

DH has 4 names and uses only one. (obviously not the one I liked, and dh refused to let me call him by that name). We always joke that MIL thought that she will not have anymore boys after dh so she used all that she had. FIL also has 3 names so it gets really complicated when dh is called up for an aliyah. DH claims that that is why he rarely gets an aliyah. Oh, and dh is a kohen!

RachelEve14

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 10:41 pm

I have 3 Hebrew names and 2 English ones. Our Rav holds you need to use the names you give, and more than one name for a girl can be very problematic (less so for a boy because IY"H he will be called to the Torah one day). Our girls all have one name, and we call ds by both his names all the time.

ClaRivka

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 10:53 pm

I have 4 names and when the times comes imyh I wont hold back with using a name like yehuda aryeh leib.

ianaii

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 11:21 pm

My child doesnt have 3 names but my husband does.

He is only called by the first one and his other 2 named I have always loved and wanted to call my son. Now I cant!

He doesn't see the point to 3 names if only calling one.

Isramom8

Mon, Jan 25 2010, 11:55 pm

My nephew and my niece have 3 names each. In the first case he was named for two people. In the second case a name the parents liked was added to a relative's name. They are each called a nickname of the first name.

lech lecha08

Tue, Jan 26 2010, 12:21 am

RachelEve14 wrote:

Can you explain this? Do you mean with the ketubah? Does it make it better or worse if you occasionally call by both names but usually stick to just the 1st name?

cityofgold

Tue, Jan 26 2010, 5:48 am

I guess it's individual...I have 3 names which I hated growing up (not the names themselves, just having 3 of them). I got laughed at a lot. And I have a friend who also doesn't like having 3. She actually asked her parents if she could drop one of them when she was a kid. They weren't so pleased with that idea...

amother

Tue, Jan 26 2010, 5:49 am

My father has 3 names, a brother has 3 names, and another brother has 4. BH none of them were ever ill to have a name added, and no names were added because the person died young.

Do what you feel comfortable with, I don't think think that the cheshbon of maybe having a name added later makes sense. (I don't think I even understand you fully. Confused

)

msctwg

Tue, Jan 26 2010, 5:55 am

I have 4 names and for some reason our daughter ended up w/3 names so if she ever gets sick ch's
she will be having to make a mishaberach for her for half the day!

manhattanmom

Tue, Jan 26 2010, 6:21 am

amother wrote:

)

For a man to have 3 or 4 names ben someone with 3 or 4 names--it's every time he gets an aliyah. I personally, wouldn't do that to one of my kids (my name limit is 2. Dh and I have 2 names.)
Not just to have so many names if the person becomes sick...

YALT

Tue, Jan 26 2010, 6:22 am

ClaRivka wrote:

I have 4 names and when the times comes imyh I wont hold back with using a name like yehuda aryeh leib.

That's my son's name. And we have no issues with it. It all means the same thing, & we call him Yudi for short.
Thinking about IF ch"v there is a need later on... a bit stretched.