Reply To: Ger Naming Baby after NonJewish Grandparent

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WinnieThePooh
Participant

I think it is important not to give a child a name that will make him stand out and could be used to make fun of him. Giving a Jewish boy the name Chris would probably fall under that category- whether the parent is a ger or not. One has to realize that different communities have different attitudes towards names. In many communities in Israel, Yiddish names are not used, and a child with a Yiddish name would feel strange. In other communities, there are many Yankels and Faigies running around, and it is normal to have a Yiddish name. Other communities will use modern Hebrew names, and names like Sora and Dovid would sound strange. Then there are communities- for example, some modern orthodox, and Yekkes (at least in the past) -that give their children English names in addition to their Hebrew/Jewish names. So Yosef will be also known as Jason. The Hebrew name is used for aliyas and in school for limudei kodesh, the English name at other times. I would hope that your hypothetical Chris’s parents would still give him a Jewish/Hebrew name. In fact, if it is really important to them, they can give the non-Jewish name, and that is what they tell the non-Jewish “relatives”, but use the real name, the Hebrew name, at all other times. In general, how to relate to non-Jewish relatives would be something that the ger should discuss with his rav, because these may be tricky areas to navigate.