Giving a name that's not a name

Under halacha and American law, no. Any name is kosher. If a Jewish child with a silly name wants to change it, they’ll still need the original name on the “get” if one should be required.

In many countries with legal systems based on Roman law, there are official lists of acceptable names to choose from (e.g. Yaakov is out, but the local equivalent such as James or Jacob, are allowed).

If the parent gives a kid a horrible name (the boy named “Sue” comes to mind), and he changes the name when he is older, he’ll need both names on the “get”. The parents presumably used the name until the kid was old enough to object, and that’s probably a good many years.

Hopefully, no one should need a get!!

Comes to mind a cute story, where a couple went to a Rov (a most competent one!!) and asked for divorce. The woman in question had a sha’alah about her name, so the Rav advised them to change it (maybe I’m getting wrong on the details), and he should only use her new first name for thirty days. Like ‘Good morning, Rachel’, ‘Good night, Rachel’, ‘I’m going out, Rachel’. After thirty days they (naturally) did NOT show up again to proceed further with their divorce.

So it’s an excellent thing to have a sha’alah aboout one’s name!!

Joseph: Not quite. We’re not the Machmir in Gittin. Almost all Poskim hold that a Get that is Kasher according to some is Kasher B’dieved, especially if she already got remarried.

When it comes to gittin we don’t go with b’dieveds. And almost all means some hold its not kosher.

I actually never knew my real name until I got married. My entire life I thought my name was one thing (first and middle name), then found out when my kesuvah was written, that my true middle name was actually the Yiddish form of what I always thought was my middle name. For example, let’s say I thought my name was Shoshana, then saw on the kesuvah that it was really Raizel. I was very disconcerted by this, but the Jewish name was the one the Rov held to be the correct middle name for that purpose. I had never

noticed as a child or young woman, that when my dad O”H got an aliyah, he used my proper Yiddish name for a misheberach. Had I only been referred to by the Hebrew form, there could have been a shailah about what to put on the kesuvah.

Object lesson – parents, be very careful and put much thought into how and what you name your children. Don’t call them ridiculous names like Purple, or Apple. They will never thank you for it.

Good point! why is it that violet is a name but purple is “ridiculous” ?

When the Steipler was not yet world renown he was collecting to have a sefer published. Two of the people who sponsored a sefer printing were childless. Shortly after donating this money, they had children. One of them named his first born daughter shira.

(not really significant but it sounded interesting.)

The comedienne Portland Hoffa’s parents were their first three children after the cities in which they were born. Some Israelis name their children after when they were born )Stav, Sivan, etc.). In Tanachic times parents gave their meaningful names. Perhaps “pyrple” is because they consider their child to be royalty.