The names tag has no wiki summary.
11
votes
2answers
458 views
Why Yehoshua **Bin** Nun and not Yehoshua **Ben** Nun
The Torah refers to Yehoshua as Yehoshua Bin Nun. (See here for an example).
Why Bin Nun and not Ben Nun?
Are there any places in Tanach where he is referred to as Ben Nun?
Is there anyone else in ...
3
votes
3answers
243 views
Hillel ben Shahar on gravestone
A follow up question to this one about my ancestor's gravestone. The bottom two lines of the inscription have a mysterious (to me) reference to Hillel ben Shahar, and unfortunately are partially cut ...
8
votes
3answers
246 views
Referring to Non-Jews
What's the most diplomatic and politically correct way to refer to non-Jews. Both in conversation, and in terms of this site?
8
votes
2answers
128 views
Why is Yitzchak spelled with a “sin” in Tehillim 105:9?
I just came across this strange variant spelling this morning. I've been in the habit of reciting Tikkun HaKlali recently and saw this in Artscroll's Tehillim this past Shabbat. Thinking it was a ...
8
votes
2answers
114 views
Why is 'Rabbenu Tam' called Rabbenu Tam?
Rabbenu Tam's name was יעקב בן מאיר. Why then is he known as Rabbenu Tam?
7
votes
2answers
646 views
Etymology of the Name Feivel
Where does the Jewish name Feivel (or Feivish) come from?
What does it actually mean?
6
votes
1answer
73 views
Identification of Rishon
Tosafos Rebbeinu Peretz (in Pesachim 38a) refers to הר"ר דיילקרויישא מאורליינש. Does anyone know who this is, or at least how his name is pronounced? (It looks like it could be "R' Delacroix of ...
6
votes
4answers
334 views
Etymology of the surname “Katz”
Are there sources for the etymology of the surname Katz being an acronym for Kohen Tzedek?
Is that simply a backronym?
5
votes
2answers
146 views
Formal Hebrew honorific for one's mother
Many men, when going up for an aliya, tell the gabbai their name as, e.g. "Reuven ben Rav Yaakov", even if "Yaakov," the father, isn't actually a Rabbi." I believe the reason for this practice is to ...
4
votes
3answers
194 views
Tzlach - source of name?
The Noda BiYehuda has a commentary on Shas known as Tzlach - can someone help me by explaining what that stands for?
6
votes
5answers
904 views
Why isn't “Adam” a traditional Hebrew name?
I can't think of many people who go by the Hebrew name Adam. Any guesses why?
3
votes
1answer
85 views
“Ramba”m“ or ”The Ramba“m”?
I often hear the Hebrew abbreviation for Maimonides appended to a definite article but don't quite understand why it should be there when the unabbreviated name would (I think) never warrant such an ...
5
votes
3answers
174 views
Charvona? How many Charvona's were there?
In the Megila twice the name Charvona is mentioned. However there is a difference - Once it is spelled with an Aleph at the end and once it is spelled with an Hai at the end? Were there two Charvona's ...
14
votes
2answers
838 views
Abbreviations before/after names
What are the more common abbreviations one might see printed before or after a person's name, and what do they mean? Please include honorifics (R'=Rabbi) as well as memorial - or prayerful - suffixes ...
3
votes
2answers
103 views
Megilah Chumash Riddle [closed]
Which four people’s names from the Chumash also come up as names in Megillas Esther?
14
votes
7answers
669 views
Phrasing of refuah prayer when praying for a non-Jew
How would you phrase a refuah (recovery from illness) tefillah (prayer) for a sick gentile?
"Thomas ben [=son of] Mary"?
"Thomas Smith"?
Is it appropriate to include the name during the ...
1
vote
4answers
207 views
Is there meaning in the name Miyah?
I named my daughter Miyah. I wanted to take her name back to times when names meant something. I joined the poetic form of the Creator's Name (Yahweh/YHWH). I've been doing name research lately to dig ...
7
votes
2answers
121 views
Why is “Y'sachar Dov” a popular combination name?
Why are the names Dov and Ber frequently paired with the name Y'ssachar?
Is it because that was the Belzer Rebbe's name or was his name part of a larger phenomenon?
7
votes
2answers
275 views
מרדכי = Mord'chi?
When learning with Jews of the Syrian community, I noticed that they pronounced מרדכי (the name of the halachic commentary on the g'mara) as "mord'chi", as if the final vowel were a chirik. Why is ...
4
votes
1answer
151 views
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya?
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya? Sources please!
3
votes
3answers
504 views
Changing a name for a sick person
Sometimes people add a name for a sick person. Can you just change it to an entirely different name? I know of a case where they kept the first name and changed the second name - originally the name ...
7
votes
3answers
186 views
Can a grandparent name a child differently than the parents?
We all know that Moshe Rabeinu had 7 names and was called Moshe which was the name Basya gave him. Recently I was in a Shul and there was a fellow there that had a grandaughter the previous week. The ...
3
votes
1answer
136 views
Named a male by mistake with a female name
Suppose a person's wife goes to the hospital to give birth and the husband remained home with the rest of the children. They made up that the nurse will call and let the phone ring once if it is a boy ...
7
votes
3answers
202 views
Meforshim Nick"names
It has become common practice to refer to most meforshim by acronyms of their name (eg Rashi, Rosh, etc.). When and why did this practice start, and is it proper?
2
votes
2answers
74 views
Why is Yosef sometimes spelled with an extra Hai?
עֵדוּת | בִּֽיהוֹסֵף שָׂמוֹ בְּצֵאתוֹ עַל־ אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
In Tehilim 81 we see Yosef spelled with an extra Hai? What is the reason for this?
3
votes
1answer
107 views
Grandpa and Grandson together again [closed]
What are the names of TWO distinct grandfathers and their grandsons are mentioned in the weekday Shemoneh Esrei ?
2
votes
1answer
48 views
Number then Names
וְאֵת שְׁנֵי בָנֶיהָ אֲשֶׁר שֵׁם הָאֶחָד גֵּרְשֹׁם כִּי אָמַר גֵּר הָיִיתִי בְּאֶרֶץ נָכְרִיָּה
וְשֵׁם הָאֶחָד אֱלִיעֶזֶר כִּי אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי בְּעֶזְרִי וַיַּצִּלֵנִי מֵחֶרֶב פַּרְעֹה
Why tell us how ...
3
votes
3answers
190 views
Why is Parshas Beshalach called Shabbos Shira?
Most people know that we read Az Yashir on Shabbos Shira and we put out bread for the birds. However this is the only Shabbos that has a special name simply because of what we read in the Parsha. ...
5
votes
2answers
73 views
יהושע too soon
We all know that Moshe did not change הושע to יהושע until the story of the spies. Why in Beshalach, quite a bit before this, was his name written in full?
4
votes
1answer
144 views
Tetragrammaton homophone
If someone has a name in a foreign language which sounds like the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton (YKVK), is there any problem calling the person by name?
3
votes
2answers
103 views
cities that start with ה־
There are a good number of cities referred to in Y'hoshua, of course, and a sizable percentage (I'm guesstimating about 5%) of them start with ה־ (most famously הָעַי, I think).What ...
5
votes
3answers
210 views
What are some examples of Jewish names? [closed]
What are Jewish sounding names that come from various occupations and locations? Please give the "rough" translation and background too.
2
votes
1answer
154 views
The male name Yona
It is most common for the name Yona to be used for males. There are many female Yona's too. In Parshas Noach the Pasuk says V'Hayona Lo Motzo Monoach which is a Loshon Nekeiva (female dialect). How ...
9
votes
5answers
184 views
Males named מיכל?
Where does the male name מיכל (as in יחיאל מיכל) come from? Is it a diminutive/corruption/translation/elision of מיכאל, derived therefrom in some other way, or simply a false cognate?
6
votes
2answers
415 views
What was the name of Rachel and Leah's mother?
What was the name of Lavan's wife, the mother of Rachel and Leah?
3
votes
2answers
183 views
Why is it called “Zos Chanukah”
Why is the eighth, and last, day of Chanukah called "Zos Chanukah" and what is it significance?
4
votes
2answers
130 views
The name of Adam, and his descendants
I've heard it said that Adam and his descendants all have names with very specific meanings, and that when the meanings are strung together they form a message in and of themselves. Is there any ...
5
votes
2answers
169 views
What is the greatest number of pages (daf) you can go in the Babylonian Talmud without encountering Abayei or Rava?
What is the greatest number of pages (daf) you can go in the Babylonian Talmud without encountering Abayei or Rava? I've heard it was 3?
11
votes
6answers
301 views
3
votes
2answers
410 views
How many Maccabees were there and what were their names?
How many Maccabees were there and what were their names?
7
votes
4answers
264 views
“Veadar” as the name of the extra month in leap years?
In older books and other publications that describe the Jewish calendar, it's quite common to see the extra leap month referred to as "Veadar." (One example is here.)
But I have yet to hear that ...
4
votes
1answer
160 views
1
vote
2answers
70 views
The Names of the Rulers of Sedom
What were the names of the governors of Sedom, and what is the significance of those names?
5
votes
4answers
344 views
Cheshvan or MarCheshvan?
The month of Cheshvan is called by many MarCheshvan. Are both correct or which one is more correct?
1
vote
4answers
105 views
Why was the letter “Hai” added to Avraham's name?
Avarham Avinu was originally Avram - and Hashem added the letter Hai to his name and changed it to Avraham. Why from all letters was the letter Hai added?
9
votes
4answers
209 views
Jewish names that are not common
Why is it that many names of Tanoim and Amoroim are not commonly used? These were big Tzadikkim yet their names are almost unheard of. For example Tarfon, Chisda, Pupa, Avtalion, etc.
7
votes
1answer
381 views
What's wrong with using “Adoshem” for the name of G-d when singing?
If seen it written that many chazzanim use "Adoshem" when singing (if not in the davening) as it has the same number of syllables as what they would be saying, namely Ado-noi, but that this is ...
4
votes
5answers
479 views
ALL Names of God
Where can I find an exhaustive list of all of the names of Hashem (preferably שמות and כינוים) in תנ"ך (Tanakh) and elsewhere?
Is this too ill-defined a topic to have an exhaustive answer?
Do the 70 ...
3
votes
1answer
68 views
Margaliyos family tree
Many famous rabbanim have had the last name מרגליות. A couple that come to mind are ר' ראובן מרגליות and ר' אפרים מרגליות. Are they related? Where could I find genealogical information on such people?
...
-2
votes
1answer
164 views
