Aramaic Boys and Girls Names

amother

Sun, Feb 02 2020, 6:05 pm

amother [ Floralwhite ] wrote:

Nope. It's my name, and it's aramaic. Because of the weird spelling, people started using a hei at the end instead of alef. Now everyone thinks it's either Hebrew or Yiddish.
Problem is, there's no pasuk for samech-alef names! So I just say the pasuk for my second name.

I'm going to ask around for you since Sima is a very popular name here.

malki2

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 4:43 am

dankbar wrote:

Some names from times of amoroim are still in use today like
Hillel, Shammai, Eluzer, Eliezer, Yehoshua, Chanina but some not like Tarfon, Azarye, Choinie, Gurion, Tradyon.

Those are names of Tannaim and are therefore Hebrew not Aramaic.

amother

Blue

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 9:08 am

יוזפא is Aramaic. Usually pared with יוסף. As in יוסף יוזפא.

malki2

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 9:32 am

Odelyah wrote:

Sima and Akiva

Don’t know origin of Sima, but don’t see why it’s Aramaic. Rabbi Akiva lived in Israel. So I don’t think his name is Aramaic.

etky

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 9:35 am

malki2 wrote:

Don’t know origin of Sima, but don’t see why it’s Aramaic. Rabbi Akiva lived in Israel. So I don’t think his name is Aramaic.

Was just going to say this.
Akiva is from the Hebrew root עקב like יעקב . Some even say it is a derivative or corruption of the name יעקב.

cbsp

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 9:56 am

amother [ Blue ] wrote:

יוזפא is Aramaic. Usually pared with יוסף. As in יוסף יוזפא.

This name is also in my family and I thought this was Yiddish as well.

How does one know if it's Aramaic or Yiddish?

malki2

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 11:51 am

cbsp wrote:

This name is also in my family and I thought this was Yiddish as well.

How does one know if it's Aramaic or Yiddish?

Maybe search to see if it’s in the Gemara. If not, then assume that it’s Yiddish or similar. I seem to recall that Rabbi Joselman of Rosheim’s name was Yosef Yuzpa. And he was German.

tichellady

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 11:55 am

malki2 wrote:

Don’t know origin of Sima, but don’t see why it’s Aramaic. Rabbi Akiva lived in Israel. So I don’t think his name is Aramaic.

They are both definitely Aramaic

amother

Scarlet

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 11:56 am

cbsp wrote:

This name is also in my family and I thought this was Yiddish as well.

How does one know if it's Aramaic or Yiddish?

Yuzpa/Yospa is Yiddish.

tovli toraspicha wrote:

Riva

Riva is Hebrew, meaning maiden.

amother

Navy

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 12:12 pm

In seder Kodashim, it says (I'm translating),
An old man in the house is a burden, an old woman in the house is a treasure in the house.
The language used is "savta bebeisa, sima bebeisa."
"Sima" is an Aramaic word for "treasure."
I've been told by a coworker that it means "treasure" in Urdu as well.
It's usually spelled with an aleph, but lately most Simas spell it with a Hey.

etky

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 12:14 pm

amother [ Scarlet ] wrote:

Riva is Hebrew, meaning maiden.

Yes, but it is a loan word from Aramaic.

malki2

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 12:21 pm

tichellady wrote:

They are both definitely Aramaic

How is Akiva Aramaic?

Amelia Bedelia

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 12:37 pm

I guess it's possible that Sima is Aramaic, but it's definitely Yiddish too. Akiva is Aramaic. I doubt Yosefa is Yiddish as the name is virtually non-existent in Yiddish speaking communities.

Eta: Oops, sorry, I misunderstood. I misread יוזפא. Yes, it's Yiddish

Last edited by Amelia Bedelia on Mon, Feb 03 2020, 2:23 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Blue

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 12:38 pm

cbsp wrote:

This name is also in my family and I thought this was Yiddish as well.

How does one know if it's Aramaic or Yiddish?

It's a family name and I was told it was Aramaic. Maybe in gemara? But only common among Ashkenazim. Similar to Shraga. There spelling does seem to be Aramaic and the family member we name after was called "Yoizep" which is the yidish nickname for Yosef.

ETA: Aramaic names and words usually/very often end with an א. While many Yiddish girls names end with an א, it's unusual for Yiddish boys
names. (Leib, mendel, Hersh or Herschel, anschel, ber, Salman, etc.)

Roots

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 1:48 pm

I once had a camper named 'shapirta' meaning beautiful in aramaic.
idk if its a name ppl use, it was definitely unique at the time

amother

Seashell

Mon, Feb 03 2020, 2:53 pm

Amelia Bedelia wrote:

Aramaic predates Yiddish by many many many years.
Saying a name is Yiddish because it’s prevalent in Yiddish speaking communities is kind of silly- are Sara Rivka Rachel also Yiddish for that reason?

Iymnok

Tue, Feb 04 2020, 3:21 am

If you are talking about names used in Israel in the times of the second Beis Hamikdash, they very well may be Aramaic since Aramaic was in use at the time.

How about Antiganus? (Sorry, Greek.)