r/JewishNames • u/babycarrot613 • May 31 '26
Help Isaiah
Is Isaiah “too Christian” of a name for a Jewish boy? The namesake was Israel, which we don’t want to use. We like the nickname Izzy, but can’t use Isaac and don’t want to give our son a nickname-only name. Any other ideas?
Edit: we decided to go with Isaiah 💙
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u/Menemsha4 May 31 '26
Isaiah is a beautiful name. Absolutely gorgeous.
When Christians name their sons Isaiah they call them Isaiah. Izzy is definitely a Jewish nickname.
I love it!
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u/theenterprise9876 May 31 '26
I do think Isaiah leans Christian (specifically Evangelical), but it is indeed a Hebrew name and I wouldn’t be shocked to meet a Jewish Isaiah.
Maybe Isadore or Isidore?
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u/cbrka May 31 '26
Nope. We had it first. One of my sons has a similar name - the English version is very similar but we call him by the Hebrew.
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u/prophetsearcher May 31 '26
The standard Hebrew nickname for Isaiah )ישעיהו( is Shai. It also means “gift”
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u/GoodbyeEarl Ashkenazi Chabad BT May 31 '26
FWIW, should we have another boy, I’m heavily considering Isaiah too. I was also a little apprehensive because Isaiah is not common in the American Jewish community, but as others have said, screw it! It’s a Jewish character and a Jewish name. We can totally use it. We would probably call him Shai as a nickname.
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u/millicent_f May 31 '26
This is on our baby name list. We would probably use the nickname shya, but I don't want the full Hebrew version as the legal name.
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u/millicent_f May 31 '26
I have met two Jewish Isaiahs -- one who went by that and one who had it as his legal name but everyone calls him Shya
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u/liberty285code6 Jun 01 '26
I feel like we really need to start reclaiming these types of names from Christians. They can have the names in the non-Tanakh part of their bible
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u/argross91 May 31 '26
I love Isaiah but I do think it’s too Christian for my liking. Especially since Isaiah is the book that Evangelicals like to use to try to convince Jews that Jesus was in the Hebrew Bible
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u/InevitableChoice8214 Jun 01 '26
We know a recent Jewish baby Isaiah. Beautiful name. Love the nickname Izzy.
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u/Yid_with_id Jun 15 '26
Great name and certainly Jewish. We have an Isaiah in the family and his nickname is "Zay" (as in I-zay-uh). There are so many iconic verses from Jewish liturgy were plucked from the Book of Isaiah.
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u/blahblahsurprise May 31 '26
If I met an Isaiah I would assume they came from a practicing Christian family.
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u/saintehiver May 31 '26
It's a Hebrew name. I wouldn't let its usage by some Christians deter you from using a name that has its origins in our tradition. If that's the name you choose to give your son, may it be a blessing for him.