Baby girl Yiddish names

amother

Emerald

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 7:49 am

amother [ Cerise ] wrote:

I also cannot understand how someone can name their child machla or another one is Rasha....

Almost everyone I know that gives a yiddish name, they name after someone. Personally, if I was just giving a random name, I'd give one after someone from tanach or after a tzadekes. To each their own though.

The name is not pronounced rasha, but rashe. (ראשע).

There is also Rishe, Disha, Necha, Ettel, Pesha.

dankbar

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 7:55 am

what does yittel mean?

amother

Pink

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 7:57 am

dankbar wrote:

what does yittel mean?

I know some said it is the same name as Gittel.

Last edited by amother on Thu, Sep 30 2021, 6:35 pm; edited 1 time in total

dankbar

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:04 am

I know people that have yittel & gittel in family like sibs, mom/dgtr

thunderstorm

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:06 am

I knew someone named Netta.

dankbar

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:17 am

I knew a Mircha. Wonder if its a Yiddish name or just a nickname. Anyone know?

Ruchel

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:18 am

amother [ Aubergine ] wrote:

The mom isn't the one going through life with a strange name. I hope your kids are happy with their names, but an unusual name is a burden. Not everyone bears it equally.

People love the NAMES not the mom. It is not a burden since it is positive. Of course if you mean made up or misspelled then that's a difficulty for work and people may judge.

Ruchel

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:18 am

OBnursemom wrote:

There’s a Yiddish name Tuna? Really?

I plan to check but I only knew it as Judeo arabic from Fortuna

Ruchel

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:19 am

amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:

Quoting myself- Sima happens to be one of my favorite (non Yiddish names)
Yiddish names I love include
Liba, Shaindel, Breindel, Perel, Ettel, Zissel, Tzirel, Freidel, Baila, Matel, Golda, and Reizel.

You cite 2 of my princesses and my mom and some of my favs. Breindel and Ettel and Zissel and Tzirel and Freidel and Reizel etc

Ruchel

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:21 am

dankbar wrote:

Machla, why someone would name their daughter, sickness is beyond me.

Do you know what Rasha means? or heck, Yoni, with all the guys going to india
It's obvs another language

Ruchel

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:23 am

turca wrote:

Isn’t it what an Yiddish name really is? A non-Hebrew name that , due to being used by Jews, became Jewish?
I’m not askenazi, but that’s my understanding.

Just like ladino!
My entire thesis is on this lol

Ruchel

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:26 am

Most cultures, certainly Jews, do not do random. Just because someone gave it without knowing the meaning doesn't mean there isn't one. Also Speranza isn't more secular than Shprintza, it's just Ladino tho

amother

Royalblue

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:58 am

turca wrote:

Isn’t it what an Yiddish name really is? A non-Hebrew name that , due to being used by Jews, became Jewish?
I’m not askenazi, but that’s my understanding.

I would consider something a true Yiddish name if it actually has a meaning in Yiddish. For example gittel is widely understood for its meaning (same as Tova). Many of the other names are in fact names that were adopted from the host country and are actually Hungarian or Ukrainian or whatever. And then there are names that are just pet names for known names from tanach and don't have any meaning in any language. Sometimes someone was called a pet name her whole life and there is no clear record of what she was actually named at birth, so people name after that pet name. It's possible she was given that name, and it's also possible she was named let's say Sarah and just called serka and that's all her family knows.

Ruchel

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 9:21 am

Serka is real.

amother

Royalblue

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 9:32 am

Ruchel wrote:

Serka is real.

What does it mean?

mommy9

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 9:41 am

Raya
Zlata
Fraidel
Yenta
Chasha
Genendel
Is tzila Yiddish?
Stisha

mommy9

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 9:42 am

Subel
Chanchie
Chyena
Mariasha
Gelly

Ema of 5

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 9:52 am

nchr wrote:

I'm pretty sure the Rav who you mentioned said Yiddish is fine vecause they have a history of a name v modern words like Shira or Tehila which have no mesorah as a name and are just words. He may have had an issue with silky or have wanted to change her mazal, which is separate. I think there is even a video where people ask about Shira and he says it is not a good name and then then list a bunch of names (some in Yiddish) and he calls them good.

I found what I wrote in another thread translating the video. Disclaimer I'm not Yeshivish.. Rav Feitman asked Rav Kanievsky if Yiddish names are all good. And what about Shira and Rina. Rav Kanievsky first responded no difference, but it sounds like he may have been referring to Yiddish names and then says no to Shira and offers Sarah instead of Shira. Then Rav Feitman clarifies by saying only names that have been accepted/used in Klal Yisroel and not a word for a posuk. Rav Kanviesky, still referring to Shira, says it is a non jewish name. Then Rav Feitman asks if it being in a posuk helps (to make it acceptable) and Rav Kanievsky responds that it doesn't help.

On the other hand, men generally don't have Yiddish names unless they also have a Hebrew. So every Hersh is also Tzvi and every Mendel is also Menachem. Woman, however, who used to not need to participate in Jewish life (and therefore did not need a Lashon Hakodesh) name often have just Yiddish names- some of them are names from other languages like Ettel, Basha, Charna etc. While others are Jewishized versions of secular names like Shprintza from Esperanza. Some of them are nicknames for Lashon Hakodesh names like Riva. And still others are just middos or animals and pretty things etc. from the actual Yiddish language like Gittel, Yittel, Hinda, Blima, etc. Some are used to imply life like Alta. Etc. But as much as you want to call them annoying they do have a mesorah as having been used as names and by Jews as names.

The bolded is not true. I think what you meant is MOST men who have a Yiddish name also have a Hebrew name, and they usually go together. I know Mendels who are just mendels. I know Bers who are just Ber. I know multiple shragga feivels. I know hershs who are not Tzvi, or are just Hersh (or Hershel, which I’m not sure is the same name or a different name, like yeshaya and yeshayahu.)
Men do not need lashon hakodesh names to participate in anything.

amother

Scarlet

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 9:55 am

Ruchel wrote:

People love the NAMES not the mom. It is not a burden since it is positive. Of course if you mean made up or misspelled then that's a difficulty for work and people may judge.

My name is neither made up nor spelled uniquely, and I will let my kids know that their children do not have to use that name. I never ever ever ever use it. I do not like it. It is a burden. There is a Hebrew equivalent, which is beautiful. Although I never used the name, I spent years asking my parents why they didn’t just use the Hebrew equivalent.

Ema of 5

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 9:57 am

dankbar wrote:

I know people that have yittel & gittel in family like sibs, mom/dgtr

I know a family that has Tzippora and Faiga, two different sisters. I also know a family that has sisters hadassa and malka. While the names MEAN the same thing, they are technically different names.