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Three Hebrew Names: good solution or awkward?
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amother
Crimson


 

Post Wed, Apr 06 2022, 2:04 am
Very very very important to have the Hebrew name according to the English name. It's so embarrassing when you have to explain why your Jewish English name is not according to your Hebrew Jewish names .
Picture: "יעלה יהודה בן ...."no my name is חיים יצחק in Hebrew " "so why do you say juda" !?!

A lot of pp have 3 Hebrew names .
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Apr 06 2022, 6:16 am
Thanks again for all the feedback! I'll discuss with my husband but I think I'm personally leaning towards three names. Seems like the only downside is it's a tiny bit clunky/wordy, but it makes everyone happy and satisfies all checkboxes. A few points as a response to some comments:

-My husband only has one Hebrew name so when our son goes up for an aliyah, he can be "Yehudah Chaim X ben X" which averages out to 2 names per person and shouldn't take up extra time for anyone Wink

-I don't really want to compromise on Judah. We've searched and searched for a name we like as much, but everything feels like settling. No guarantees on whether we'll have another boy but either way, this one feels like a Judah. I know this can change in the hospital - maybe he will clearly be a Chaim! - but I want to plan around what we're currently intending.

Thank you all!!
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amother
Brown


 

Post Wed, Apr 06 2022, 7:19 am
salt wrote:
I would agree with that if the English name was a real English name (eg. Charles) and not an translated Jewish name (Judah).

My brother has this:
His English name is, say, Isaac.
His Hebrew name is after 2 grandfathers, say Moshe Chaim.
On a day-to-day basis he went by the name of Isaac.

He came to live in Israel for a few years, and went by the name of Yitzhack - he just translated his English name, as he felt like it was more 'him' than calling himself "Moshe Chaim", which was his Hebrew name, but he had never used.

But he just confused himself and everyone around him. I remember he once got an aliya in Israel, and the gabbai called him up "ya'amod Yitzchak ben...?" - waiting from my brother to complete his name and his father's name.
And my brother said "no it's Moshe Chaim" Confused


Had my brother been called Yitzhack Moshe Chaim in Hebrew, it would have made life easier, and enabled him to 'connect' to his Hebrew name better.

Conclusion - use 3 Hebrew names, the first one being Yehuda.


Why did he call himself Yizchak in israel when it simply wasn't his name? Why didn't he just call himself Isaac?
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amother
Brown


 

Post Wed, Apr 06 2022, 7:26 am
Name your baby whatever youd like and bshaah tova!

I always lol at so many here saying it will take “too long” (about 1 extra second) when he gets called up for an aliya. So what?!

And pray tell: is he getting called up for an aliya for 24 hours of the day?

Even if he got an aliya EVERY SINGLE day after Bar Mitzvah and had to, gasp!, be called by “three whole names” instead of one or two…what is the big hoopla always all about?!
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caffeine99




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 06 2022, 7:36 am
Many people have the custom to only name for one person at a time. To not do both grandparents names for one kid.

Can you do one of the grandparents with the name you like?

Also naming a child is Ruach HaKodesh so you can always say that if people get offended.
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BetsyTacy




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 06 2022, 7:39 am
I'm glad you are at peace with your decision.

I actually wasn't thinking about this one boy receiving an aliyah. It's more that this boy's sons, iyH, will be however many names ben 3 names. I do know 3 names ben 3 names and it is a lot.

Honestly, there is no "wrong" answer here.
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WhatFor




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 06 2022, 7:46 am
I'll give my opinion since you asked for it, but take it with a grain of salt because ultimately you were chosen to be this child's mother, not any of us, and I believe that at least some mothers can feel what the child's name is.

Anyway, so my opinion is that I wouldn't like either solution presented. I don't like three names, I think some people could find it burdensome.

And as for the mix, I personally never preferred that either. I've known plenty of people whose English names didn't match their Hebrew ones, and I just never cared for it. I even know of one family who thought they were having their last and wanted to name after too many people, so they just used one of them as an English name which didn't match the Hebrew. (Let's say his name was Avraham Yitzchok but his English name was Jacob). When they were surprised with another boy, they named him Yakov (with a different English name).

And not that this really should matter for choosing a name, but I suspect that future generations will assume the legal name was their Jewish name and use that if naming for them.

If I had that dilemma, I'd probably try to have my cake and eat it too. I'd figure out how the name Yehuda has something in common with one of the other names and replace it.
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amother
Gardenia


 

Post Wed, Apr 06 2022, 9:20 am
salt wrote:
I would agree with that if the English name was a real English name (eg. Charles) and not an translated Jewish name (Judah).

My brother has this:
His English name is, say, Isaac.
His Hebrew name is after 2 grandfathers, say Moshe Chaim.
On a day-to-day basis he went by the name of Isaac.

He came to live in Israel for a few years, and went by the name of Yitzhack - he just translated his English name, as he felt like it was more 'him' than calling himself "Moshe Chaim", which was his Hebrew name, but he had never used.

But he just confused himself and everyone around him. I remember he once got an aliya in Israel, and the gabbai called him up "ya'amod Yitzchak ben...?" - waiting from my brother to complete his name and his father's name.
And my brother said "no it's Moshe Chaim" Confused


Had my brother been called Yitzhack Moshe Chaim in Hebrew, it would have made life easier, and enabled him to 'connect' to his Hebrew name better.

Conclusion - use 3 Hebrew names, the first one being Yehuda.


Similar story with my brother, but it had halachik ramifications. He got a name at his bris that was never intended to be used (no one liked it), and an unrelated English name. Later, when he went to a frum school it was too jarring to switch the the Hebrew name, so for his whole life he went by the Hebrew version of his English name. As an adult, a very big posek told him he can drop his bris name entirely because it has never been used. He chose not to, but when he's called to the Torah and such, he needs to be called by both names.

My bil, on the other hand, got a classic Jewish name at bris, but was called his whole life by a completely unrelated more modern Hebrew name, which has since become somewhat mainstream. So it's really confusing. He has two unrelated Jewish names and goes by only one, but is called up to the Torah and such by only the other. People were sure that there was a typo on the wedding invitation...imagine Dovid on one side and Avi on the other.
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amother
Gardenia


 

Post Wed, Apr 06 2022, 9:23 am
essie14 wrote:
You don't have to put all 3 names on the child's birth certificate.
My DD has 2 names but her birth certificate and all legal documents only have her first name.


Based on my experience, I only put one name on the birth certificate. It just gets complicated.
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a2z




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 16 2022, 5:14 am
Just saying, I have a friend who's brother has 5 names
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a2z




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 16 2022, 5:19 am
a2z wrote:
Just saying, I have a friend who's brother has 5 names


All Hebrew ( in Israel)
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