Zushe Wilhelm

An authoritative scholarly guide to names and naming, drawing from a broad range of rabbinic responsa.

The Jewish name is not merely a means of identifying an individual, but a matter of significance, a concept with spiritual content. Logically, there is a close association between the name and the person bearing it. This is emphasized frequently in the To...

1) The subject of what name to give a child should not be discussed before the child is actually born. 2) The child’s name should not be registered with the office of the civil authorities before the bris. 3) The custom is to name a boy immediately after ...

1) Just as a son is named (specifically) by his father, so too, a father names his daughter. 2) If a girl is born, and her father is not in town, the daughter should not be given a name until the father returns; he then gives her the name. Meanwhile, she ...

1) The original custom was to name a child after an event in the parents’ lives - for example, Noach, Yitzchak, Moshe, etc. Later, this custom changed, and children were named after their ancestors. 2) Regarding naming a child after an ancestor: some say ...

1) Some say that one may name a male child after a female. Others maintain that it is better not to convert a feminine name to a masculine one. 2) It is not proper to name a female after a male. Some authorities disagree, and do have a custom of giving a ...

1) Some say that one should not give his child a name that is common to both males and females. 2) Some are particular not to marry a woman whose name is the same as one’s own. 3) If a bridegroom has the same name as his prospective mother-in-law, or if t...

1) In the old days, people preferred to give their children names that contain the Name of G-d, or names that express praise and thanks to G-d. For example, the prefix E-l in the names Elkana, Elchanan, Eliezer, Elazar; the prefix Y-h in the names Yehoshu...

1) We find in Tanach names of people that are identical to names of places. For example: Ephras is the place where Rachel Imeinu died and was buried (Bereishis 48:7). This name also appears in I Divrei HaYamim 2:19, as the name of Calev’s wife. Similarly,...

1) It is proper to name a son after one’s Rebbe. 2) Some say that naming after one’s Rebbe takes precedence over naming after one’s ancestor. Others dispute this, saying that naming after one’s ancestors takes precedence over naming after his Rebbe.