Help me like the name

amother

Caramel

Tue, Dec 07 2021, 9:06 pm

amother [ Candycane ] wrote:

I know laylay's and leee-ah's. I LOVE the name Leah. I would probably call mine laylay.

My Leah is laylay!!! Full of personality! And I LOVE Leah too...
I was hesitant to name her that cuz all the Leahs I know are very intense, but she's such a carefree little girl, bh, and very responsible.

simba

Tue, Dec 07 2021, 11:06 pm

I think it’s a really pretty and feminine name. I have 2 cutest ever nieces with that name. And actually 2 close friends who have more personality and charm then I can handle. And they are both quite the feminine type..

I named my eldest son a name I really wasn’t into but it was the right thing to do and today it’s so much of him.

tigerwife

Tue, Dec 07 2021, 11:12 pm

I think it’s a beautiful name. For some reason, we all get caught up with Leah had eyes red from crying and forget the reasoning (she didn’t want to marry the strong and powerful Esav- she knew she was destined for more) and the fact that she is one of only four imahos who was Zoche to birth 6 of the shevatim, making her the matriarch to most of klal yisroel.

The name is beautiful as is but you can also play with the spelling (Leia, Laya). I like the nicknames Lele and Layla. I’ve also heard simply Leigh. If you are really devoted to giving this name, I’m sure you can find a way to connect to it.

amother

Chicory

Tue, Dec 07 2021, 11:14 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Leah. It's a nice name and one of the imahos but I just dont love it. Sounds so plain and boring and every leah I've ever met has a quit boring personality- even the relative I'd be naming after!
I also specifically like names with nice meanings and leah does not have a nice meaning.
I'm sure it's just hormonal that I feel this way about a name so typical...so Please help me come to like the name!

I'm biased (my name is Leah) but I think it's a gorgeous name. I wish I was quiet and boring, lol - maybe my life would be simpler!!

It is a deeply meaningful name because of Leah in tanach - she is a role model for tefilla and how much one can accomplish with a burning desire for ratzon Hashem. She is quoted multiple times in Shearim b'tefillah for her unique and powerful styles of tefilla.

Also, according to the sefer hashaimos (I think this is the source), the source of her name is
"מלאה חכמה ודעת"

Not sure if this is important to you but it's easy for non Jews to spell and pronounce. I work in a secular environment and clients tell me all the time they love my name (not super important to me but it sure is a side benefit).

Hope this helps! May you have siyata dishmaya in naming your child, whatever you decide to do should be w bracha

amother

Orange

Wed, Dec 08 2021, 12:24 am

Leah from Tanach prayed so hard and with so much passion that she changed who she was going to marry, and that just did not happen back then.

For what it's worth, I have never known a Leah who was boring or had a boring life. If you want, give Shalhevet as a middle name, it means "flame" and every Shalhevet I've known has been a spit fire!

imaima

Wed, Dec 08 2021, 12:29 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I like the idea of a second name. This way I can always call her by the second name if I still dont connect to the name leah once baby is born.

If it was an unusual name I wouldn't name after, but it's a nice name, I am just not super into it right now but maybe I'll like it more...and the nicknames suggested are pretty cute

BTDT
I have plain names in my family that I just didn't want to use when my first child was born
So we named after a different person.

However by the third child, I felt the name that I ignored first was right for the child. This is ruach hakodesh I guess. Trust your gut.

Is it your last child? Of not, keep Leah for later and use some other name now.

amother

Arcticblue

Wed, Dec 08 2021, 1:54 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I did this!!

gave a name after a grandmother
The name I didn’t really feel a connection to
Not too many people understood because it’s a very used name

So I added a name

And we can one day use the other name….

amother

Orange

Wed, Dec 08 2021, 2:58 am

OP: do you want us to help you think of middle names to "balance out" the name Leah?

Someone already suggested Ahuva, and along the same line of thought you have Libi, Chaviva, Yikrat

I suggested Shalhevet and along those lines you also have Lahava (flame), Levia (lioness)

You could add a "beauty" name like Noya, Linoy, Naava, or if you wanted to be very subtle, add a middle name of someone described as very beautiful like Esther or Sarah

salt

Wed, Dec 08 2021, 3:05 am

How about Libby Leah, or Leah Libby.
I like the alliteration and also I love the name Libby.

Are you in Israel? Insist on pronouncing the name as it is in the Torah - מלרע - Le-AH
with the emphasis on the last syllable.
It's prettier like that.
I ask if you're in Israel, cos I can't see that really sticking in America, but in Israel - yes.

amother

Floralwhite

Wed, Dec 08 2021, 4:12 am

I have a leah. Before we named her I didn't particularly like the name leah, I also felt it was blah. No I wasn't forced to use the name, noone expected it, but I wanted to name after this grandmother, so I added a name that I like. Well after a few weeks the name leah just stuck as opposed to the other name we chose, and my dd has been leah ever since.
She is so far from blah lol, she has been a whirlwind of energy and spunk and quirks from the day she was born, a beautiful child knh who keeps all her teachers on their toes. As one teacher described her, when leah is in the room you feel the whole class is in a better and more energetic mood.
I have also gotten comments from complete strangers how they love the name, I think it has become quite popular in the secular world. One time an older woman, not jewish, came up to me in the mall and said I heard you calling your dd leah, my dd just named my granddaughter that name and I never heard of it, but seeing your dd I actually love the name now! Often ppl will reference princess liea too, although dd has no clue what they mean but she hears princess so she's cool!

Tof Umachol

Wed, Dec 08 2021, 5:07 am

I would think some more about the relative you are planning to name after. Did you or your husband know her personally? Can you delve a bit deeper and find a story about her you find meaningful, or something about her personality or her life that you can value? (Most people have something really valuable about them, and if you look you may be able to find it.)

I'll just add that I know a few really lovely, fun and smart Leahs.
I know an adorable Lakey, and two very cute Lallys.

amother

Clematis

Wed, Dec 08 2021, 6:20 am

amother [ Sienna ] wrote:

The Leah’s in my family have TONS of personality! My little daughter Leah is beyond precious.

Mine too..she's the most popular kid in the class!! What a ridiculous comment in the opening comment!!

amother

Salmon

Wed, Dec 08 2021, 6:42 am

My middle name is Leah and no one who knows me has ever described me as boring! If anything I could probably use some sedatives 😂.

Another think I recall about Leah is that when she was pregnant with Dina, she was supposed to have a boy. But Bilhah and Zilpah already had two boys each, so she knew that if she had seven boys then Rachel would only get one boy to be a part of the 12 shvatim. She davened that Dina would be a girl so that Rachel could have two shvatim.

I was just thinking that it's interesting that the remaining Jews right now are all from Levi, Yehuda, and Binyamin. Levi and Yehuda were both Leah's sons, and Binyamin was only Rachel's because Leah davened that she should have the last shevet.

But I agree with those who say not to name a child a name you don't feel is right for her.