Question:
Why do many Jews today name children after deceased relatives, recycling the same names over and over again? This does not seem to have been our way in the biblical era.
Answer:
You are correct; very few people—if any—seem to have been named after relatives in biblical times. Instead, they named their children after the circumstances of their births, or other memorable events. In this they were following the example of the very first two names: Adam was named for the adamah (earth) from which he was formed, and Eve (Chavah) was thus named for she was the mother of all chai (life).
By the Tannaitic period (over 2,000 years ago), things had changed, and we find prevalent the custom of naming children after ancestors. Why is this? The sages of the Midrash wondered the same, and here are their answers:1
Rabbi Yossi opined that the insecurity of the times gave people concern that if they would not name their children after their ancestors, their heritage would be forgotten. Naming children for the grandparents fosters a sense of continuity and purpose. In contrast, the long lives and strong cultural identity of biblical Israel did not warrant such precautions, so people had the confidence to use some creativity in name-giving.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel (who himself was part of a famous chain of Gamliels and Shimons) taught that our ancestors had divine inspiration to guide them to the appropriate name for their kids. We, however, who do not merit such insight, are left to name after our parents.
Nevertheless, the great Kabbalist, the Ari, asserts that whenever parents give a child a name, a spirit of prophecy is somehow involved. So in truth, the significance of the given name—and connection with an ancestor—has real meaning in that child’s life.
Please let me know if this helps.
Yours truly,
Rabbi Menachem Posner
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