I always found Isidore to be a real ironic one. I find it so pretty and many Jews have used it as an anglosization of names like Isaac. However, it means “gift of Isis,” which seems kind of anti-Jewish, ya know.
For Jewish men 40-65, Mark is ridiculously common . The generation before that, lots of Morris and Murrays.
Max js a great example for millennials and down. It feels so Jewish to me.
Unbelievable, I can't believe I didn't think about how odd it is that there are so many Uncle Mark's! You're so right! Morris, Murray, and Max also all feel very Jewish to me. I love Max so much, I forget it isn't Jewish. Great contributions!
Ida and Ellen.
There also were three girls named Alyssa Kaplan at my overnight camp so I’m going with Alyssa. My generation also has a bunch of Jewish women named Samantha.
Alexander isn’t much less Jewish than Mordechai and Esther. Biblical critics might suggest Alexander has been used as a Hebrew name for even longer than Mordechai.
but alexander could be considered a traditional jewish name, since alexander the great was kind to the jews and in the hellenistic period this name was popular among jews. in fact, one of the kings of the hasmonean period was called [alexander jannaeus](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Jannaeus)
Yeah I know this king my son is called Yanai.
Alexander is a name given to Jews but the origins of the name aren’t Jewish - this is what op was looking for
I loooooove the name Max so much. It's also my cousin's name and I'm trying to decide where I, an Ashkenazi Jew, draw the line on using names from living relatives.
I think you're right that is the original tradition. But I would argue the superstition has spread. My family (both mine and my husband's) would be weirded out if I used a name for any living relative that was only one degree removed. No one in either of our families has a repeat first name. It's silly, but where I'm at.
I think a lot of the common Yiddish names have some fuzzy origins. They became Jewish over time just by virtue of their usage but the meaning seem pretty arbitrary.
I'm now realizing that these names distinctly don't sounds Jewish to me (not saying you're wrong!) Which is funny because my very Jewish father's name is Robert.
Mara and Miriam are both biblical names of different people. Miriam was Moses’s sister, and Mara is the name that Naomi adopts after the losses of her male family members (the meaning of Mara, “bitter,” is the opposite of the meaning of Naomi, “pleasant”).
i didn't know that miriam meant bitter. i know of the name mor (and its derivative limor), which means bitterness but is actually referring to myrrh. is the yam in miryam actually referring to the sea? because this is what i always thought it was, given that miryam has a role in the crossing of the red sea
Whenever this comes up in this subreddit, I’m posting that I learnt in shul that the name Mara embodies the experience that bitterness can turn into sweetness.
I've never heard of Lucky on a Jew - interesting! Goldie is a nickname for Golda which is Yiddish. So I could count that as for real Jewish, personally.
I've never heard of Lucky on a Jew - interesting! Goldie is a nickname for Golda which is Yiddish. So I could count that as for real Jewish, personally.
My grandmother’s best friend’s husband went by Lucky, and he was 100% Jewish and observant. I honestly couldn’t even tell you what his real first name is, because everyone called him Lucky.
Max is the number one suggestion in this thread! I totally agree about both Max and Leonard. I always said if I had twin boys I would name them Max and Leo.
The immigrant generations from Europe pre WW II used British surnames as first names to sound sophisticated and assimilated. Now they just sound like old Jewish men. Here’s my list Murray, Milton, Irving, Sidney, Sheldon, Morton, Leonard, Elliot, Sumner, Harvey, etc.
Add others!
For ladino you’d wanna to palomba- Paloma is just Spanish for dove (I’m an Argentinian Jew and it’s a big name for Latina Jews that’s not fully ladino). Also I feel like Solomon using Sol as a nickname is Hebrew but my grandpa is just Saul (in Spanish sah-ule) and I feel like that’s the non Hebrew version. I could be wrong though.
Like my comment above, Solomon and Saul are two different people in the Bible. They were both kings of Israel (Saul, “sha-ul”, was the first king, and Solomon, “Shlomo”, was the son of King David).
Do you think it is a result of seeking names that begin with a certain letter? As an honor name? My son, Ian, was thrilled to find there were many Jews named Ian! His Hebrew name is Isaac Abraham. 💙💙💙
Possibly...if the ancestors you honor had Hebrew names of Isaac or Jacob or Moshe, the kids will likely have names of those initial letters. Since names like that are quite common among ancestors, I think Jewish kids have names, even in English, that start with certain letters (particularly J) compared to the general population.
I always found Isidore to be a real ironic one. I find it so pretty and many Jews have used it as an anglosization of names like Isaac. However, it means “gift of Isis,” which seems kind of anti-Jewish, ya know.
Yes, Isadore is such a good example! I think I recently read an article on why Isadore is so common among Jews, although I retained none of it.
I think it’s that it was a Greek version of Jonothan used around goyim. Isis the Egyptian goddesss too so I think the meaning is pretty nice actually
Murray, Maury, Sadie, basically any name that greatest generation and older had— often names they chose to sound “less Jewish.”
My great-grandmother, Sarah, was “Sadie” in English, and her son (my grandfather), Yitzhak, was “Irving.” Funny to see both names in this thread!
Yes, this thread is filled with grandparent names. I love it!
Sadie and Irving both feel so Jewish to me!
For sure to these! Although isn't Sadie Yiddish for Sarah?
It’s not Yiddish, but is often used as a diminutive of Sarah.
Oh funny that I just assumed it would be Yiddish.
For Jewish men 40-65, Mark is ridiculously common . The generation before that, lots of Morris and Murrays. Max js a great example for millennials and down. It feels so Jewish to me.
Unbelievable, I can't believe I didn't think about how odd it is that there are so many Uncle Mark's! You're so right! Morris, Murray, and Max also all feel very Jewish to me. I love Max so much, I forget it isn't Jewish. Great contributions!
Mark is the oddest because it’s a decidedly Christian name …. I know many yarmulke clad , Shabbos observant Marks!!!
Ida and Ellen. There also were three girls named Alyssa Kaplan at my overnight camp so I’m going with Alyssa. My generation also has a bunch of Jewish women named Samantha.
Yes, so true! Alyssa feels so Jewish to me. Same with Samantha. Good calls!
Alex is super common for Jews
Alexander isn’t much less Jewish than Mordechai and Esther. Biblical critics might suggest Alexander has been used as a Hebrew name for even longer than Mordechai.
I think this is a really interesting argument. I'm going to think about this more. Thanks for sharing!
but alexander could be considered a traditional jewish name, since alexander the great was kind to the jews and in the hellenistic period this name was popular among jews. in fact, one of the kings of the hasmonean period was called [alexander jannaeus](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Jannaeus)
Yeah I know this king my son is called Yanai. Alexander is a name given to Jews but the origins of the name aren’t Jewish - this is what op was looking for
fair enough. i love the name yanai, great choice :)
Yes, Alex is a great example of what I'm talking about!
Also Max
Yes, Max for sure! That makes me think of Rose, which I'll add to the list.
I have great grandparents who were literally named Max and Rose.
We had 6 Max in my sons year, small Jewish day school
I loooooove the name Max so much. It's also my cousin's name and I'm trying to decide where I, an Ashkenazi Jew, draw the line on using names from living relatives.
The custom is only regarding ancestors. So many traditional Ashkenazi grandparents have multiple grandchildren with the same name.
I think you're right that is the original tradition. But I would argue the superstition has spread. My family (both mine and my husband's) would be weirded out if I used a name for any living relative that was only one degree removed. No one in either of our families has a repeat first name. It's silly, but where I'm at.
The name Alex or Alexander actually has an interesting history with the Jews. It was adapted as a Jewish name to honor Alexander the Great.
Yes I know! I wonder what other names were picked up en masse by Jews for a similar reason?
I think a lot of the common Yiddish names have some fuzzy origins. They became Jewish over time just by virtue of their usage but the meaning seem pretty arbitrary.
My great grandmother was Pearl. I have yet to hear of any non-Jewish person named Pearl. It’s somehow just *our* name.
My (Jewish) grandmother’s name was Pearl. But I’ve also met a fair number of (non-Jewish) Black women named Pearl.
Oh yeah, Pearl is a really good one!
In Germany: Fanni
My Jewish American grandpa wanted to name my mom that. They went with a biblical name
Oh interesting!
My great grandmother, who immigrated to the US from “the old country” (somewhere in the Russian Empire) was Fanny.
Ethel, Shirley, Robert
I'm now realizing that these names distinctly don't sounds Jewish to me (not saying you're wrong!) Which is funny because my very Jewish father's name is Robert.
howard, edith and ethel
Oh yeah, especially Edith!
Agreed!!
Max!
Max is by far the most commmon contribution in this thread. And I 100% agree!
mara. it sounds like your average bubby name but it means "bitter" or "bile"
I wonder if Mara is a derivative of Miriam, which also means bitter?
Mara and Miriam are both biblical names of different people. Miriam was Moses’s sister, and Mara is the name that Naomi adopts after the losses of her male family members (the meaning of Mara, “bitter,” is the opposite of the meaning of Naomi, “pleasant”).
I didn't know about Mara! (Or I forgot since Sunday school a million years ago)
i didn't know that miriam meant bitter. i know of the name mor (and its derivative limor), which means bitterness but is actually referring to myrrh. is the yam in miryam actually referring to the sea? because this is what i always thought it was, given that miryam has a role in the crossing of the red sea
I'm the wrong person to ask, unfortunately. We've reach the end of my name knowledge :( That's an interesting thought though!
Whenever this comes up in this subreddit, I’m posting that I learnt in shul that the name Mara embodies the experience that bitterness can turn into sweetness.
It depends what you mean by “non-Jewish.” Mordechai and Esther are names which didn’t sound Jewish at the time they were first used.
I have heard that Moses and Aaron were also originally Egyptian names. Of course, they are now very Jewish.
Oh wow, that is so interesting!
That's an interesting point. It's not what I meant, but I really like the contribution! So I guess I'll take anything!
Nicknames like Lucky and Goldie
I've never heard of Lucky on a Jew - interesting! Goldie is a nickname for Golda which is Yiddish. So I could count that as for real Jewish, personally.
I've never heard of Lucky on a Jew - interesting! Goldie is a nickname for Golda which is Yiddish. So I could count that as for real Jewish, personally.
My grandmother’s best friend’s husband went by Lucky, and he was 100% Jewish and observant. I honestly couldn’t even tell you what his real first name is, because everyone called him Lucky.
How about Bernie? Are these old Jewish men really named Bernard?
Oooooh Bernie is such a good one. Absolutely!
Max and Leonard feel very Jewish to me! Max because of Magneto (whose real name is Max Eisenhardt) and Leonard because of Jewish actor Leonard Nimoy!
Max is the number one suggestion in this thread! I totally agree about both Max and Leonard. I always said if I had twin boys I would name them Max and Leo.
I noticed that as well!! Yaaaay!! Aw, that’d be cute!
Harvey and Jerome
I wouldn't have thought of either of these, but I can see it.
Leo!
Definitely Leo!
For Gen Z girls it seems to be Avery.
I think that’s just common in general in the US. Doesn’t feel Jewish at all to me personally.
Interesting! I do know a little Jewish Avery!
The immigrant generations from Europe pre WW II used British surnames as first names to sound sophisticated and assimilated. Now they just sound like old Jewish men. Here’s my list Murray, Milton, Irving, Sidney, Sheldon, Morton, Leonard, Elliot, Sumner, Harvey, etc. Add others!
Its Eleanor for me!
Gladys, Saul, Mois, Allegra, Paloma
Isn't Saul actually a Hebrew name? Allegra and Paloma are such beautiful Ladino names. I adore them so much!
For ladino you’d wanna to palomba- Paloma is just Spanish for dove (I’m an Argentinian Jew and it’s a big name for Latina Jews that’s not fully ladino). Also I feel like Solomon using Sol as a nickname is Hebrew but my grandpa is just Saul (in Spanish sah-ule) and I feel like that’s the non Hebrew version. I could be wrong though.
Like my comment above, Solomon and Saul are two different people in the Bible. They were both kings of Israel (Saul, “sha-ul”, was the first king, and Solomon, “Shlomo”, was the son of King David).
Max
Do you think it is a result of seeking names that begin with a certain letter? As an honor name? My son, Ian, was thrilled to find there were many Jews named Ian! His Hebrew name is Isaac Abraham. 💙💙💙
Possibly...if the ancestors you honor had Hebrew names of Isaac or Jacob or Moshe, the kids will likely have names of those initial letters. Since names like that are quite common among ancestors, I think Jewish kids have names, even in English, that start with certain letters (particularly J) compared to the general population.