Does Lia sound religious to you?

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Forum -> Pregnancy & Childbirth -> Baby Names

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amother

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 10:12 am

I'm in a MO community in Israel where literally anything goes including Emily or Nina, but for me personally it's important to give a religious name and not an "Emily".

So I first heard of the name ליה meaning יש לי את השם and I thought that's a great meaning and a pretty name, but I was just on the website shemli and it said that the meaning is like I thought when spelled לי-יה or לייה, but that when spelled ליה it is a non-Jewish name. ליה is davka the spelling I was going to use.

So my question is: if you saw the name ליה, would you think of it as a religious name, or would you think of it as an international name that happens to sound okay in Hebrew (like Emily)?

banana123

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 10:28 am

It's not a religious name, but it's a beautiful name.

Iymnok

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 10:34 am

I read it as the secular pronunciation of Leah.

amother

Wine

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 10:41 am

I read it as לי Hashem
Like אליה or עביה
I think it is beautiful.
I might also think it was after a grandmother Leah but modernized a little
FYI, I am MO in NJ (as opposed to chassidish or Israeli) as I think people's demographics do impact their decisions and thoughts and how relative it is to you.

ora_43

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 10:50 am

It's pretty. Not originally Hebrew, and I've seen some rabbanim advise against using it. But OTOH, some others say that since it could have a Hebrew meaning, it's OK.

I could see this one going either way. If the name picks up in terms of popularity, it could be a totally normal DL name in a few years. OTOH, it might not. For now I'd say it doesn't sound frum.

What about a name like Amaliya or Odelia with Lia as a nickname?

Ruchel

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 3:24 pm

Like the chief rabbanit? https://museoebraico.roma.it/e.....-jew/

Last edited by Ruchel on Sun, Sep 06 2020, 3:28 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Blush

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 3:26 pm

No.

Elfrida

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 4:02 pm

ora_43 wrote:

What about a name like Amaliya or Odelia with Lia as a nickname?

I don't like it, and it doesn't sound like a Hebrew or religious name to me. But I have a neice called Odelia, and she is known as Oddi. Lia is no worse. They both destroy a beautiful name.

Ruchel

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 4:06 pm

Amalia is gorgeous. I would use it but it's a painful Shoah story in our fam

shabbatiscoming

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 4:16 pm

I am in a religious yishuv and there are 2 girls, completely israeli, named lia. I only ever thought of the name as israeli. But no, it is not specifically religious.

amother

Periwinkle

Sun, Sep 06 2020, 4:19 pm

Could also be a nickname for Dalia. I'm not sure about religious associations.

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