English name for Bruchy

Log in / Sign Up

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following My Posts Bookmarks

Private Messages Advanced Search Rules New User Guide FAQ Advertise Contact Us

Forum -> Pregnancy & Childbirth -> Baby Names

1 2 Next

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Dodgerblue

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:08 am

I gave birth over the weekend to a baby girl and we named her ברכה.

1- what's the correct English spelling - Bruchy or Bruchie?

2- is there an English/Legal name to put on the birth cert or would you just stick with the name as it is?

zaq

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:12 am

Mazal tov!
The”correct” spelling would be Brachah though most people spell it Bracha. “Bruchie” is a nickname. End it with a Y or IE, makes no difference. But be aware that it’s a nickname.

There is no English equivalent unless you want to call her Benedicta, Benedetta, Bendiga, Benecia or Beata, which are not English. There is no legal requirement for a secular name if you live in the US, and ethnic names are much more accepted now than half a century ago. If you are chassidish or yeshivish and intend to live forever in an insular community, there is zero reason to give your dd a name she will never use.

If you are more modern and worry about your dd going out in the world with a name the world can’t pronounce, the usual solution is to use either a name that sounds similar or starts with the same letter, e.g. Barbara, or someone else’s name that is the same in Hebrew and English but had nothing to do with the Hebrew name. Many people do this if they want to name after more than one person, each of whom has a double name, e.g. Hebrew name in Bracha Zilpah and English name is Hannah Rachel.

Last edited by zaq on Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:29 am; edited 1 time in total

Rubber Ducky

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:15 am

Brooke would be a similar English name that people can pronounce.

amother

Lemon

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:21 am

Betty was what my grandmother’s English name was for Bruchy.

amother

Dodgerblue

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:22 am

I get it that Bracha is ברכה but we plan to call her with the vowel sound. So wondering if "y" or "ie" is more common for this name.

amother

Copper

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:24 am

Mazal Tov! Giving a secular legal name is really personal preference.

I know a Bracha/Barbara.

amother

Pumpkin

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:38 am

My hebrew name is Bracha and my english name is Brooke - thats the name I go by. Its a fit because a brook is water and water is the biggest bracha.

But PLEASE spell it with an e at the end and DONT call her Brookie. It means “underwear” in Afrikaans and South African people will laugh. Trust me.

thunderstorm

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:44 am

My non religious relative and someone else I know who has the Hebrew name Bracha , were legally named Beth.

Lilkingdom

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 9:18 am

I have a Bracha and we call her Bruchy at times. Her English name is Grace as a translation to a bracha/blessing.

amother

Ecru

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 5:35 pm

I know someone who spells it Brachie, there's also Brochy. Bruchie and Bruchy are both fine, they convey the same pronunciation either way - if you want to use the 'u' in the middle, I am partial to Bruchie though, because with a 'y' at the end makes my mind jump to adjectives (brunchy, bunchy brushy, bushy). Mazal tov.

chicco

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 5:40 pm

Lilkingdom wrote:

I have a Bracha and we call her Bruchy at times. Her English name is Grace as a translation to a bracha/blessing.

I was also going to put in a vote for Grace if you were choosing an English equivalent.

amother

Brunette

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 5:45 pm

I don’t have a Bracha, but I do have a Chayele and a husband named Burech. Their legal names are Chaya and Baruch. I don’t give nicknames as a legal name, even if I call them that. It isn’t as disastrous as it sounds, but it does require some patience. Even kids without a ches in their names require patience if they don’t have a secular name. None of mine do, so we just laugh and get over it.

nicole81

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 5:54 pm

Over the course of my career I've come across a couple of girls named Blessing; just throwing that out there 😁

My youngest dd's second name is Bracha and it says just that on her birth certificate.

Iymnok

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 6:02 pm

DD's name is spelled Brocha. It’s a non-English name, so you could spell it however you want. We used the O to pronounce the komatz under the reish. An A gives it a patach sound.

amother

Maroon

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 6:02 pm

nicole81 wrote:

I was just thinking about "Blessing." If I am not mistaken, it is commonly used as a girl's name in English-speaking parts of Africa. Unusual in the US, but lovely.

Whether or not to choose an English/secular name in addition to the Hebrew name is a topic of enormous debate. Basically, there are no rules, so do what seems best to you and your husband. (Personally, I would caution against putting a nickname on the birth certificate).

amother

Amber

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 7:55 pm

How about Brenda?

Metukah

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 7:59 pm

My bracha is bracha on her passport.

I know brachas who are Barbaras on their passport.

OutATowner

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 9:37 pm

Keep in mind that if you choose a different name on the birth certificate, you will have to be aware of it her whole life. Like, if she wants financial aid and needs diploma from the school, for example, everything needs to match. Which could be fine, and many people do it, but just keep that in mind.

amother

Mistyrose

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 9:49 pm

As someone who struggled for most of my life with an unpronounceable name: if you're raising your kid in an English speaking country, please give her a name that people can pronounce.

People who know your daughter will call her Brachie. People who don't and aren't Jewish, are not going to call her Brachie, no matter how you spell it on the birth certificate. They're going to pause before reading her name, get confused, call her Bratch-ee and Bratch-eye, Break-ee, Break-eye, etc. If she goes to college, this is going to cause embarrassment and unsolicited attention every time a professor does roll call.

I have friends and siblings who ended up changing their name to avoid embarrassment, which was a huge inconvenience.

Please save your daughter from what I had to go through. I'm not an attention seeker and I always hated all the attention I got every time someone tried to say my legal name.

amother

Brunette

Mon, Aug 06 2018, 9:53 pm

amother wrote:

It’s funny. I have an unpronounceable name as well, and I feel that I am just as entitled as anyone else to be called by my ethnic name. Why do Indians and Africans and Middle Eastern people not change their names to sound more American? Because they’re proud of who they are and what their name represents, and so am I.

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next