Baby girl Yiddish names

WhatFor

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 9:59 am

thunderstorm wrote:

I knew someone named Netta.

Neta is a modern (common) Israeli name. I've never heard it as a Yiddish name, although maybe it exists.

To be perfectly blunt, some unusual Yiddish names are ripe for kids to make fun of. I don't know why, but there were names we used as goofs as children. I think even our teachers would use them as the silly character in stories. The name "Shprintze" comes to mind, and I'm sorry to offend anyone on here who has that name. Yiddish sometimes has a funny sound to it, and picking an outdated funny sounding name could set your child up for bullying. Wasn't there a hall named after someone who didn't want anyone to be burdened with carrying her name (or was that a rumor about the hall)?

If you're not actually naming after someone, please consider how the name sounds in the country where you live.

(And after all that, I knew a Shterny and always thought that was a beautiful name. Maybe because I assumed it meant "Star" because it sounds close to that word in Yiddish although I have no idea what the name actually meant.)

amother

Aubergine

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 10:04 am

Ema of 4 wrote:

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.

Hadassah and Malka don't mean the same thing. Queen Esther was also named Hadassah, if that's what you mean, but even there the names have different meanings.

nchr

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 10:49 am

Ema of 4 wrote:

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.

According to a dayan I know who oversees gitten Hersh without Tzvi is a mistake and they will always put Tzvi in the get according to his opinion. He said if the person is a BT it is different because there was probably confusion with the family not knowing great grandfather getzil was Elyakim. There are also a few Yiddish exceptions like Alter and Zaida which have a specific explanation. And of course Greek names like Alexander and Klonimus. And there are teshuvos written about this. Women, even in ultra frum cities in Europe, were not necessarily expected to have a religious name so many had secular names like Aigy which is why in Hungarian communities Aigy can be considered Yiddish by name or just Yiddish names without Lashon Hakodesh. I dont have the ability to look it up on the phone now but the vast majority of men in Europe had a Lashon Hakodesh name and it had a special name to describe the practice which did not apply to women.

Ema of 5

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 10:58 am

nchr wrote:

Just because that Dayan says it, doesn’t mean that everyone holds that way. For all the names that were listed as “you will never have x-name without y-name” I know people who are. So “you will never” is not true. “You will generally not” would be more accurate.

amother

Forestgreen

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 11:31 am

My family has some names that we only give the lashon kodesh name and the person is called by the Yiddish name only (called Mendel but their given name is Menachem or Tzvi but called Hersh) and others where the given name is Yiddish- like Perel and the Hebrew name is never referenced. I’ve given up trying to understand why.

nchr

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 11:42 am

amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:

Because Perel is female and Mendel is male. Men have Lashon Hakodesh names, except in extremely rare exceptions and with BTs or such who may not have known better.

nchr

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 11:44 am

Ema of 4 wrote:

Can you name me a frum from birth person whose parents are not BT named Mendy or Hersh? Names from random European graves dont work either because of the lack of Jewish education in many Villages. There are published teshuvos about this and there is a special phrase in Yiddishkeit for men having Lashon HaKodesh names whereas it was irrelevant for girls because they were not necessarily part of Jewish life. I don't know what the deal is with the name Zusha but it may not be Yiddish because it can be paired with a Yiddish nickname.. so it may be one of those confusing ones like Pia or Sima that appear Yiddish but are not.

Ema of 5

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 11:52 am

nchr wrote:

I don’t need to prove anything to you, so I won’t. I’m just saying that “generally” would be a better word to use than “never” because clearly that is not always the way it is.

gamanit

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 11:54 am

dankbar wrote:

what does yittel mean?

There is a difference in opinion among etymologists regarding the origin of the name. One theory is that it comes from the name Yehudis; that Yehudis became Yehudis'l which became Yidis'l which became Yittel.

nchr

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 11:56 am

Ema of 4 wrote:

I don’t need to prove anything to you, so I won’t. I’m just saying that “generally” would be a better word to use than “never” because clearly that is not always the way it is.

That's an interesting stance. I'm asking because if you do then I'd learn something new. As of now, I've heard this opinion from multiple rabobim including ones who are not frum. I'm not asking to prove you don't know anyone - I'm asking to prove myself wrong I suppose.

nchr

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 12:04 pm

And BTW halachically your name is what you're called so if your called Max with no Hebrew name that is your name etc. My son's English name is Bear because I liked the name but his Hebrew name is not related at all but obviously if he would get chv divorced (he's a toddler name) they'd write his English name because it is halachically his name.

Ema of 5

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 12:14 pm

nchr wrote:

My cousins have a Roizel and a Raizel. Guess that would fit for your example.

Someone here wrote that Roizel and Raizel are two different names, but I’ve never heard Roizel before, and I don’t speak Yiddish or Russian or Hungarian, or any language other than English for that matter, so I wouldn’t really know.

dankbar

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 12:15 pm

[quote="WhatFor"]

To be perfectly blunt, some unusual Yiddish names are ripe for kids to make fun of. I don't know why, but there were names we used as goofs as children. I think even our teachers would use them as the silly character in stories. The name "Shprintze" comes to mind, and I'm sorry to offend anyone on here who has that name. Yiddish sometimes has a funny sound to it, and picking an outdated funny sounding name could set your child up for bullying. Wasn't there a hall named after someone who didn't want anyone to be burdened with carrying her name (or was that a rumor about )

hall you mean chynka?

goofs? for a nosy busy body we'd use yenta dvoshe. For nerdy, nebby we would say yuncha "trana"