English name for chava? Or just give chava?

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Forum -> Pregnancy & Childbirth -> Baby Names

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amother

Blonde

Mon, Sep 07 2015, 10:46 am

I live in the us. Is there a reason not to give chava on my daughter birth certificate? Will it be hard for her later on like hard for non jews to pronounce ch?

Sanguine

Mon, Sep 07 2015, 11:00 am

amother wrote:

I live in the us. Is there a reason not to give chava on my daughter birth certificate? Will it be hard for her later on like hard for non jews to pronounce ch?

Yes. They'll always say it wrong. Won't matter the first 20 years of her life but will when she grows up. Not only pronouncing it wrong but when she gives someone her name. How will they write it down? You can't even misspell. What would you write? Eva is a good English name for Chava cause it's similar enough for people to realize that it's the same person.

Ema of 5

Mon, Sep 07 2015, 11:05 am

Sanguine wrote:

My daughters name is Chaya, and no one ever has a hard time spelling it, and they don't butcher it when pronouncing it- it's either haya or kaya. Really not a big deal at all. Chava is a pretty straightforward name to spell....I don't see it really being the huge issue that sanguine is making it out to be.

Last edited by Ema of 5 on Mon, Sep 07 2015, 11:08 am; edited 1 time in total

Ema of 5

Mon, Sep 07 2015, 11:08 am

OP, if you really want an English name, you can do eve, Eva or Ava.
I have found (among my friends who have different legal names than the ones they go by) that having two names is harder than one which may be hard to pronounce or spell, both of Chava is not....I always have to ask when I'm signing things and filling out forms if they want my legal name or the name I go by. Then I have to remember how my legal name is spelled, cuz there's a million versions and I never use it so I always forget.

Smile1234

Mon, Sep 07 2015, 1:21 pm

I have a 'ch' in my name and no one can pronounce it. When I was a young girl it bothered me, but I got over it. Really not the end of the world. And its easier IMO to have one name for legal and regular...

seraphima

Tue, Sep 08 2015, 4:51 pm

Yes, in my experience it will be pronounced incorrectly in the US. Eve is a really nice substitute for documents. Easy to pronounce and spell.

choco1

Tue, Sep 08 2015, 5:46 pm

Or legal name could just be Hava (no C) I know a couple of ppl with "Ch" names who do that. Pretty name!

amother

Seashell

Tue, Sep 08 2015, 6:29 pm

eema of 3 wrote:

I'm pregnant with my first and we are trying to decide if we should give a hebrew and "english" name and personally I don't see the reason why the need for an "english" name and be called something else. Thanks for pointing this out, it makes sense that would be annoying when filling out legal forms and such.

amother

Yellow

Tue, Sep 08 2015, 8:01 pm

I'm legally Eva for chava. I love having a secular option...makes life so much easier. Most of the jobs I held were in secular circles so its great having an easy to pronounce name to go by. And is also easier with medical bills, etc.

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