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Do you know anyone who is a ger and named his/her child after a nonJewish grandparent or relative (who has a typically nonJewish name)?
Or do you know someone who is Jewish, has a typically nonJewish name (like Mary or Chris) and was named after a nonJewish relative?
I wonder if this happens and, if so, then how the nonJewish name affects the person’s personal identity, etc.
Thank you! 🌹
When Alexander the Great visited Eretz Yisroel the yidden honored him by declaring all baby kohanim born that year will be named Alexander.
You are aware that “Mary” is actually the Anglicization of a Latinized form or the Hellenzation of the Aramaic form of the Hebrew name מרים? “Chris…” (Christopher, Christine, etc.) on the other hand as no Hebrew name that could be used.
I doubt that a non-Jewish name is a real “name” – when we talk about names affecting the person’s identity, we are talking about their Jewish name. One exception- the name Alexander. It is for Alexander the Great, Shimon Hatzaddik made a promise that baby boys would be called after him in appreciation for the good he did for those in Eretz Yisroel on his way to conquering the world. The name has been passed thru the generations, and you can still find some around today.
I doubt a ger, who has broken away from his past and made a new future by connecting himself to am yisroel would give his child a name reflecting his past. And even if he did for whatever reason, the child would also be given a Jewish name, which would be his real name, no matter what it says on the birth certificate.WTP, if a ger’s parents really wanted the baby to be given a specific name that can be Jewish after a family member, wouldn’t that be a “real” name?
It would be no less Jewish than Yenta, Etka ,Shprintza , Aristoblus or any of the Aramaic names in the Gemorah.
At one point in time, they were all non-Jewish the first times they were given to a baby.A Ger doesn’t have parents (or siblings). They are Bnei Avrohom. Once converted their relationship to their former family is halachicly severed.
Vkara shmo bisroel, george?
Since a Ger (generally) has his/her named changed at the time of the geirus, I would think that they wouldn’t put themselves in a position of naming a child with a non-jewish name.
RebYidd, that is a possibility, but OP was asking specifically about “typically non-Jewish names”, which I thought to mean names that Jews would not normally use.
Lightbrite……………
RE: Girls named Mary
In 1952 my parents moved from NYC to New Haven, CT
My mother was shocked by all the Jewish females named Mary. In NY she never ran into this.
I’m in my mid 60s and there at least half a dozen orthodox girls my age in the neighborhood named Mary. By the next generation the name had virtually disappeared among the Orthodox community.Best I can understand is that Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century were taking/giving “American’ names that were easy to use in commerce and dealing with government (library cards, driver’s licenses, etc.) By the 1970s ethnic names and ‘odd’ spellings were in vogue.
Goodbye Mary, hello Miryam, Mira, Myra, etc.CT, my Aunt Mary was born in Brooklyn in the 1920’s.
It was not uncommon for Hungarian Jews to name daughters Catherine after one of the Hapsburg empresses. A member of my shul is named Catherine for that reason
We didn’t change our names to Egyptian ones in Mitzrayim.
lesschrumras……………….
My mother was born and raised in the Bronx…guess things were different there.Joseph, your record in the CR is worse than that of the ’62 Mets. A ger is still required to honor his biological parents for two reasons:
1, It would be a chillul Hashem not to as gentiles honor their parents.
2. Gratitude for bringing him into the world.Apushatayid, many Jews have a Jewish name for shul and a non-Jewish name for the office. At one time Julius was a common name for Jews, perhaps because Julius Caesar followed a very pro-Jewish policy. I do not know why Morris, Seymour, Rhoda, Arnold, Martin, etc. became popular among Jews. BTW, Harry S Truman did not have a middle name. He had two grandfathers named Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young and his parents wanted to honor both (his mother’s brother was named Harrison but was known as Harry).
Avi K, the reason Jews used such names (Norman, Morris, Arnold, etc.) is that they sounded sophisticated and upper-class to people at that time. It probably helped with upward mobility (and assimilation as well).
To answer Lightbright, I don’t know any gerim or born Jews who have done that, and I wouldn’t think it’s a good idea (for the identity-related reasons you mention), though I would think it’s forbidden or a horrible thing to do.
Nowadays, when there is no little anti-Semitism compared to the past, and so much assimilation, Jews should give their children Jewish names, instead of having two names, as people did in the past.
A Ger doesn’t have parents (or siblings). They are Bnei Avrohom. Once converted their relationship to their former family is halachicly severed.
Tell that to Yael Kushner
Sorry, I meant “I wouldn’t think it’s forbidden or a horrible thing to do.”
My great-aunt was called Mary. I don’t remember her, but my mother tells me she was very frum, as are her children today. It didn’t mean anything in those days.
Is Peter a name a religious Jew would use as a secular name?
Or Paul.
Joseph, I know quite a few frum Pauls. Get over it
Joseph, that may be another reason why Jews a couple generations ago used names like “Norman” and “Sidney” and such — they are unmistakably WASPy but at the same time have no specific Xian connotation, like Patrick or Peter or Paul.
Sidney is WASPy?
To me, yes, kind of British sounding. I’m sure there were a lot of White Anglo Saxon Protestants with that name…
I know a number of yidden with names of Paul and Peter.
I knew a Mary and a Peter or three (both Jewish) growing up.
Sidney
I had a great-uncle named Sidney.
The Wolf
Joseph stated the halacha 100% correctly. He never actually said they don’t have to honor parents, just that they maintain no halachic tie, which is true. This comes up all the time when it comes to ownership of a dead, unmarried ger’s property. How anyone with the most basic knowledge of Gemarra could call Joseph out as being wrong here is beyond me. And, yes, his CR reputation does precede him; if by that you mean he keeps it interesting and has kept a lot of us coming back for years.
I think the OP’s question would have been more interesting had it been regarding a goyish grandparent with a typically Jewish name. Say the ger had a grandpa David.
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.
Other communities will use modern Hebrew names, and names like Sora and Dovid would sound strange.
I doubt that’s the case anywhere.
There is a difference betrween the names like Chris and or which tend to be associated with christianity and names that are neutral like Michael or Ashley
The story about Alexander the Great is interesting especially considering the fact that he was a known toievah.
ZD, you equate Michael and Ashley? Michael is a Jewish name.
Jesus is also a jewish name (it is an anglicised version of the latin version of the greek version of the hebrew name yeshua).
Doesnt mean it is a name you should give your kid.
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