The BiG Story
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Avrahom f Abrohom
• Yitzhaka after her late grandpa
I Step 2: Don't Double Your
Pleasure
Yitzhak may sound lovely to you,
1 Since English versions of many pop-
but it just doesn't work. It's like
! ular biblical names exist, you do not
calling your son Melis instead of
1 need to provide your child with a
Melissa, or Glor instead of Glo-
separate Jevvish name if the given
ria. Too weird.
name already comes from the Torah.
If you want to name your son
Step 4: Charting New
David, for example, don't give him
Grounds
1 the Hebrew name Yosef (Joseph).
Suppose, though, that you don't
His English name is David; his
know the names of any of your
Hebrew name is David. That
ancestors or they were all so
David/Yosef combination is kind of
dreadful you would really prefer
I like saying, "We named our daugh-
to forget them. Here are a few
1 ter Eileen, and her English name is
more possibilities:
1 Diana." Sounds really dumb, does-
A) Look to modern Hebrew.
' n't it?
Often, Israeli names have nothing
A list of some popular Hebrew
to do with the Torah; families just
names and their English equivalents,
like the sound. A popular name in
!where applicable, is at far right.
Israel, for example, is Tzipora, or
bird.
Step 3: Shlmo, Sounds Like ...
B) Honor someone you admire.
If you are planning to name your
Perhaps there was a particular
son or daughter or yourself after a
Jewish leader or a person who
late relative, think first. While
helped found the State of Israel,
1 "Moshe," the name of your beloved
whom you would like to serve as
uncle, and "Courtney," what you
an inspiration for your child.
would like to call your daughter, do
C) Take time to smell the roses or
1 indeed both contain an "o," the two
the buttercups. Nature offers a
names simply are not similar enough
fragrant collection of Hebrew
1 to suggest you are naming the latter
words appropriate for girls: Lilach
for the former.
(lilac), Nurit (buttercup), Shoshana
However, this does not mean you
(lily), Vered (rose), and for boys:
must name your daughter Moshe
Alon (oak tree), Ilan (tree), Armon
(please — don't name her Moshe
(chestnut).
..).
How to get started then to find
!something compatible for, say, your
1 late Aunt Gladys, who had no
1 known Hebrew name?
First, consider something in
Hebrew that begins with "G". For
example: the name Gila means
1"joy" and Gali means "fountain." Or
look to a similar word if-yw just
can't abide the original, or really
1 crave something new. If your late
1 aunt's Hebrew name was Yona
(dove), perhaps you would be
happy with the diminutive, Yonit.
1 Finally, sometimes a female version
1 will exist for a male name, or vice
versa, such as the case with Ilan
1 and Illana. But, please, use common
sense. Naming your daughter
1/14
1 2000
Step 5: Names Next To
Godliness
If you want to incorporate God's
name into your own, select a
name that begins or ends with
yo, eli, el, yahu, all of which
refer to God. Some examples:
Eliezer, Eliahu, Talya, Ezekiel,
Gavriel.
Step 6: But What Does It
Mean?
Unlike many American names,
created simply for the beauty or
originality of their sound, the vast
majority of Hebrew names mean
something. So before you select a
name based simply on its sound,
consider its translation. For exam-
ple, the popular Mara means "bit-
ter," while Leah is "weariness"
and Amos is "burdened."
You can find a number of books
on the subject, or ask your rabbi.
Meanwhile, here are some of
the more pleasant meanings
behind Jewish names:
Aaron (male) — singing, moun-
tain, shining and teaching
Adam (male) — earth
Adin (male) or Adina (female)
— beautiful, refined
Ahava (female) — love
Amir (male) or Amira (female) —
strong
Ariel (male) or Ariella (female)
— lion/lioness of God
Aviv (male) or Aviva (female) —
spring (the season)
David (male) — beloved
Ilan (male) or Illana (female) —
oak tree
Lev (male) — heart
Lila (female) — night
Menachem (male) — one who
comforts
Nathaniel (male) — gift from
God
Tal (male) or Tali (female) —
dew
Yakir (male) — beloved
Yitzhak (male) — laughter
Yonah (male) or Yona (female)
— dove
Step 7: Know The Context
Finally, before your final decision,
consult a friend from Israel or your
rabbi. What sounds like a beauti-
ful Hebrew name to you may be
nothing more than gobbledygook,
or perhaps carries some rather
odd associations.
A current guidebook about
'Hebrew baby names, for exam-
ple, lists Tnuva (translation: "pro-
duce") for a girl.
Maybe, but Tnuva also is the
name of one of Israel's leading
manufacturing companies, which
produces much of the country's
milk. Would you really want to
subject your daughter to years of
being mooed at? ❑
c
(
Yitzhak/Isaac
I
Yaakov/Jac.ob
Noah
BinyaminfBerki amin
YonatanfJonothan
Daniel
Shmuell5amuel
Moshe/Moses
Aharon /Aaron
Yisrael/Israel
David
YO5effJ05ePh
YehlidafJUdah
Michael
Notan/Nathan
Yehoshuct/Joshua
Girls
Nornes:
Esther
Avigailf Abigail
Ruth
DevorafDeborah
Naomi
Yehudit/Judith
Tamar
Sarah
Rivka/Rebec c
Dina
Rachel
Leah
Miriam
ChanatHannah
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