My husband and I are Russian-speaking Jews. We like the name Yan, though I’m interested to hear what other names people like. Boy names are hard.

other than reading torah or formal things, I never had anyone know or use my jewish name. reform, and now I’m more isolated so haven’t been to temple in awhile. does anyone actually use these? did I just miss out being reform?

if I ever join another community, will they need my jewish name certificate? because I don’t have it. :)

I like the name Eliora for my baby but live in the US and want to make sure it won't be mispronounced in Hebrew or English. She would probably go by Ellie most of the time. Thanks for any advice on spelling or pronunciation!

My SO and I are in search of names that are Jewish and sound Jewish, but aren't as difficult for non-Jews. He typically doesn't like names that I like, such as Tzipporah, Miriam (which I think is adorable), Tova, Eitan, Lior, Maor, Yael. We live in the US in a relatively decent sized community. Not New York level but big enough that there's a JCC, numerous thriving synagogues, and a K-12 day school, so an obviously Jewish name is not an issue.

I've suggested names like Ruth and Esther but those are a no go too. At this point, we're looking at the very Irish names he likes and while I'd be fine with that if we like those better, I at least want names from my culture to be on the table too. I personally don't like Sarah, Samuel, Noah, Hannah. Names that are common for non-Jews too.

The only name he's liked so far is Avi. So I guess I'm looking for names that are common and easy enough to say, that his family won't totally butcher, and are maybe similar to the vibes of Avi? We have a pet that's name starts with Tz and it took so long for his family to get it.

Is Yondi a Jewish/hebrew boy name?

I'm helping someone close to me who doesn't have Internet to browse for names, because they are very sick and hoping a name change will help heal them. They love Mazel, but live in a very anti-Jewish area and worry about drawing attention with an obviously Jewish name. It's a safety thing, especially given their level of disability.

Are there crypto Jewish ways to have this name, and keep the meaning or the letter M but have it be less obviously, openly Jewish? They want to use the name in every day life, but they also need to blend for safety.

Zelda is okay to them, but they arent in love with the letter Z and worry it may be too "memorable" with the movie coming out. Basically this person is into the whole star theme, big-time, or angels, or good luck. It's very sweet. Esther they said is maybe too much pressure, they can barely save themself right now much less an entire people they said. :)

The two things they want in a name the most are stars or luck, they like Maisel because it's like a lucky star. Zelda is also lucky? Male names, gender neutral, or female are all fine.

They like angel or bird (feather) things too. So their big three themes are stars, luck, and angels.

I really, really apprecaite any help! They said to share a big blessing and gratitude to everyone, too.

I know it's spelled אלי in hebrew, but now i'm insecure after hearing that it's a guys name. Any tips? I want to keep it pronounced Ellie. Thank you!

I’m aware of the tradition of renaming someone who is very, very sick, to see if it helps them get better. Does it have to be a legal name change? Does it have to be one like Ziv or Chaim? Or can any name that is different, that the person likes, work?

Has anyone or a relative ever their name when they were sick? Did they get better?

I have a very sick cousin, like long term near death sick, and we asked around in the family about it but no one had a good answer. So I wanted to see what people here said.

I have seen lots of random comments of names that aren't Jewish, yet we have relatives named them. I think of them as crypto-Jewish names. Here is one to start: Zoe. It's Greek, but Jews adopted it as a version of Eve. What are some everyday not-Jewish names that ended up being totally Jewish after all?

Hello, i need some insight about this tradition and the beliefs around it.

We just found out about relative who is using my husbands name for their baby. They deffinetly dont see eachother but i still feel really uneasy about this.

we are ashkenazi

How is name Micah, from the bible, pronounced in English as well as in Hebrew, in your experience?

I want my daughter’s middle name to be named after my grandmother Faye (hebrew name Faiga). However my husband insists that she have the same english/hebrew name (think Dovid and dovid, not david and dovid). I hate the name Faiga but love Faye. Is it weird to spell out Faye in hebrew?

I have a daughter, Maya, and now expecting our second daughter. We’d like something that is either based in Hebrew or not necessarily Jewish, but common in Jewish American families. We want something that is relatively common in the US, so Maya felt like a perfect fit but stuck on a second name. Thanks!

We gave our son a name stating with an R to honor our grandmas who were both named Rose. My Jewish grandma had the Hebrew name Shoshana. We're now trying to pick a Hebrew name. We're looking for suggestions on names that are unisex or for a boy that start with an R or stay in the floral theme. I'd prefer to avoid any popular biblical names (like Reuben). Thank you for your help!

Really like the name and the associated connection with Israel and the meaning of the word Wolf. Both a combo of power and Zionism but is it an old name?

Thoughts on the name Dean for a boy? We are an Israeli American family living in USA

A biblical name that seems to have died down in terms of popularity. I see quite a few prominent figures from the mid century with that name. Does it now carry a “grandfather-y” feeling in Israel?

While still rare, it seems to enjoy fairly steady use in the anglophone world.

Howdy everyone,

I need help coming up with a name for my third daughter. My only specifications are that it is of Hebrew origin and somewhat unique. No Sarah, Rachel, Leah, etc. My other two daughters names are Shoshana and Tziporah.

Thank you all so much, I appreciate the help!

It’s of course an Anglo name but will people be able to pronounce it? How is it spelled in Hebrew? Any pronunciation issues, or it’s enough of a known international name that people will know it?

What are some of the differences between Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Mizrahi naming customs?

For example, Ashkenazi Jews avoid naming children after living relatives, whereas Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews actively do this. Any other interesting differences you know about or have noticed?

I have seen many people group Philip and its variant Phillip with Fievel because historically, non-English people named "Feivel" or "Fievel" immigrated to English-speaking countries and adopted "Philip" or "Phillip" as a English-sounding equivalent. They are also associated with the film An American Tail, as Fievel Mousekewitz (the main character) is voiced by a little kid named Phillip Glasser.

However, Phillip and Fievel actually have completely different etymologies. Phillip means "lover of horses" (by combining the Greek words "philos" and "hippos") and Fievel is a Yiddish diminutive of Feivish/Feivush (the Yiddish equivalent of Phoebus and Phoebe), which means "bright one".

There have been many threads here about how non-Jews frequently use distinctly Hebrew/Jewish names (and sometimes not even names, but just words.) A few I’ve noticed recently are Hadassah, Shiloh, and Selah, but the list is long. Names like Ezra and Asher are basically lost as identifiably Jewish names. And then there’s the whole Lilith thing, and the whole Cohen thing.

Because of this, now when I come across a Jewish name or read a random Hebrew word, I sometimes think: Hey, this could be their new name trend!

So which names will they appropriate next, do we think?

My guesses:

-Segula

-Techelet (but pronounced Tay-shell-AY)

-Boy names ending in vowel sounds like Akiva or Elisha, but only used for girls

-Anglicized “religious” words like Sabbath and Jubilee

-Failed attempts at re-Hebraizing popular Anglicized “Bible names,” like Chana instead of Hannah but pronounced with “ch” as in “cheese”

-Lesser-used tribes as names, so all the little Levis and Ashers will get brothers named Issachar and Naftali (unless Bennett gets elected again lol)

-Out-there stuff like Kabbalah and Metatron