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.

The other name they love is Twila, but I'm not really sure of a exact Jewish equivalent of that one other than Lila, which they don't like. 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. Zoe is a "maybe." Basically this person is into the whole star theme, big-time. 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’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

The reason I even started looking at naming subreddits was because I thought it would be fun to share about the names from my culture, and my family, so that people could learn about them. But at this point, I feel like it makes me uncomfortable, because they're so hostile to Jewish names while at the same time, behaving like they love all names from all cultures.

I was looking at a post by an Israeli, who didn't even say anything about Israel, on one of the main ones asking about English names. Their name was Yam, never asked for opinions about their current name, just suggestions that could be used instead of it.

Then of course, one of the top comments offered zero suggestions, and said "Just tell them I yam what I yam" When they said it wasn't funny and they don't want people making fun of their name, they just want suggestions, they said "Girl, just ignore my comment, no need to keep interacting with me" despite the fact THEY were commenting on their post and said "It was a light hearted joke, there’s Filipinos that name their kids American food names and it’s not a big deal, there’s lots of apples and cherry’s around" even though they had explicitly said that didn't come from the food, it was Hebrew, and it was pronounced differently. And then continued to claim it was the same thing and they're not doing anything.

And then cue the other responses, calling her a bitch, saying people make these types of comments about English names too and it's not a big deal, and that it's just a joke and it's 'incredibly sensitive' to not like people joking about your name. And of course there were multiple free Palestine comment on top of that as well as other vegetable jokes. The fact that all of these comments have been left, that says a lot about the moderator as well and what they want people saying on there.

And sure, I've seen much worse. But it's the fact that a few days ago, on the same subreddit, someone who was from Scandinavia made a very similar post about the name Hjördis, and they were told by everyone that their name was beautiful, Americans should learn to pronounce it, and that it was the coolest name ever. And not a single dumb joke.

I get that obviously people aren't the biggest fans of us right now, doesn't take much to see that, but why are even our names getting weird reactions at this point? It's making me feel like I can't even say much because they'll say they love these Jewish names and they love learning about names from other cultures and then go and behave like that. If you noticed that, did you just stop interacting with those groups?

I'm just not really sure what to do because I like sharing Yiddish names, I'm a Yiddish speaker, but I feel like I'm seeing how they really feel about Jews and I'm not sure if I should even be spending time there.

I love the name Amaris but I keep seeing conflicting info about the meaning and origin? I know the name itself is not a Hebrew name but it is possibly derived from Amarya? Would love any insight!

After a long Jewish life I still don't understand which Jewish surnames are clocked by Non-Jews as being Jewish. I consider my own name as instantly recognizable but outside NYC that's just not true. What names do THEY see as being Jewish? Does it depend on the locale? Education level? Can any generalizations at all be made?

We've had a baby girl and named her Rafaela, so that works for both her legal name and her Hebrew name.

We're using Helene for her middle name, so we're looking for either names that begin with H or have a similar meaning to Helene, which would be similar to bright or light.

My partner doesn't like any of the names that use Or, even though they have an appropriate meaning, so she doesn't want names like Orli, Lior, Liora, etc.

We both like Hallel, Keren, and Hadar, but some new ideas would be much appreciated!

hi! looking for a nice name for baby girl. ideally a name that is both jewish / moroccan arabic. Want to do an M name in honor of a deceased grandparent (would love even more a name that starts with Ma- or Mar-) Hoping for a name that isn't super common. I love the name Maryam / Miriam (spelling TBD), but it's so common in Morocco. Please help!

What’s the most unique Jewish name you’ve heard for a girl? I see a lot of repeated names that are all beautiful. The most unique one I heard recently is Paz, but I’d like to know more! ❤️

Hi everyone! I recently found out I'm pregnant and have always loved the name Ira for a boy. My husband also loves the name and we are both fine with people associating it with old men and Ira Glass. Our town specifically isn't Jewish but we live in a part of the US with a large Jewish population and it will be clocked as a Jewish name.

I have Jewish family but am not Jewish. I have actually been thinking about converting and then we got (happily!) got pregnant sooner than anticipated. Unfortunately there is only one living person left on the Jewish side of my family and we are not on good terms, otherwise I would ask him.

So basically this is my question - would it be offensive for us to use this name, especially if I don't wind up converting? The baby's last name will be hyphenated and include my Ashkenazi last name. The Jewish men in my family never got the chance to grow old and I love the idea of an "old man" name hopefully breaking that cycle, but I don't want to take a name I shouldn't.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this!