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jewish names
Hi! I'm writing a book about a Jewish family so please give names that you know are common among Jewish people. Please suggest both boys and girls names- as many as you can. Thank you.
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My work has a lot of Jewish men and they all have regular American names. e.g. Mark, Gregory, Alan, Sam, John, Evan, etc.
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Two of my Jewish friends are called Rachel. The first Rachel's brothers are David and Benjamin, and her sister is Sarah. The other Rachel has two sisters called Becca (Rebecca) and Annemarie. Honestly, most Jewish people I know have non-"Jewish" (by which I'm pretty sure you mean Hebrew) names. Examples: Emma, Danielle, Jerry, Ethan, Tallulah, Beatrice, Julia, Kelly, Tim, Alice, Stephanie, Harry, Lola, Thomas, Al, and Claire. Unless this family is Orthodox, chances are you can name the kids pretty much anything. Sarah and Rachel are fine Jewish names, but so are Julia and Alice.
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It depends on the time period, where they live, their particular level of observance, etc.Aaron
Adam
Benjamin
Chaim
Daniel
David
Eli
Herschel
Isaac
Jacob
Joshua
Jonathan
Joseph
Nathan
Noah
SamuelChaya
Chana
Deborah
Esther
Hadassah
Miriam
Rachel
Rivka
Rebecca
Ruth
Naomi
TamarBear in mind that Jewish people as often as not name their kids names that are not "Jewish" like John or Emily, and that many names of Hebrew origin are quite popular among other religions too.
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If you search under Hebrew names, you'll get a full list from the database. How common a name is would probably vary depending upon where the Jewish family lives. A Jewish family living in America or Britain might choose a different name for their children than someone living in Israel. For instance the actor Jason Isaacs comes from a British-Jewish family, and I don't consider Jason a Hebrew name. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rachel Weisz names are pretty traditional. Also, it would probably make a difference depending on whether they are practicing Jews or not. There are Jewish people who are Christian, Atheist, Agnostic, etc.Some common names include:
Boys:
Joseph/ Josef
Jacob
Isaac
Benjamin
Joshua
Alexander- Although not of Hebrew origin, it still seems popular
Boaz
Daniel
David
Levi
Michael
Mendel
Aaron/ Aron
Samuel
Abram Girls:
Rachel
Sarah
Hannah
Rebecca
Ruth
Naomi
Esther/ Ester
Rosa
Golda
Tamar
Yael
Adi
Rivka
Maya
Abigail
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Off topic, but... wiki says,As of 2005, 61% of Israeli Jews are of Mizrahi ancestry.The more you know!
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wrong spot!nt
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Is the family Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform? Ashkenazi, Sephardic, or Mizrahi? I don't know much about Sephardic or Mizrahi naming customs, so what I'm saying here applies to Ashkenazi Jews.Orthodox Jews are much more likely to give their kids names in Hebrew or Yiddish. Reform / Conservative Jews usually follow standard trends in naming. Common biblical names are popular (eg Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Joshua, Michael, Adam, etc). Looking at the popularity lists, the only names that I don't see being used on a Jewish person are names beginning with "Chris". Depending on the family's tie to the Hebrew language, Hebrew-language names might be used. For these people, common names include Noa for girls and Ari for boys.Ashkenazi naming custom says that a person is to be named after a deceased relative. Normally, this is done by taking the person's initials and using that. For example, my brother (Seth Richard) is named after my late aunt (Sandra Renee). My middle name (Cara) is after some relative that I don't really know about named Celia. Additionally, most Jeiwsh people have Hebrew names. Sometimes this name is a translation of the person's English name into Hebew or Yiddish (for example, most people assume since my name is Rachel, my Hebrew name is Ruchel). Sometimes people use the Hebrew name to honor people (my actual Hebrew name is Serel Channah, after relatives named Sarah and Celia).
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Off topic, but... wiki says,As of 2005, 61% of Israeli Jews are of Mizrahi ancestry.The more you know!
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