Questions tagged [names]
Questions about the purpose, meaning, halachos (rules), etc. of names.
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Tribes' names with את and without?
"וַתַּהַר לֵאָה וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ רְאוּבֵן"
"וַתַּהַר עוֹד וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן ... וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ שִׁמְעוֹן"
"וַתַּהַר עוֹד וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן ... עַל־כֵּן קָרָא־שְׁמוֹ לֵוִי"
"וַתַּהַר עוֹד ...
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Honorific for a non-Jew
My question is somewhat simple: is there an honorific for particularly righteous, deceased non-Jews? Related: is זכרונו לברכה ever used for non-Jews? I don't recall ever having seen this.
EDIT: I ...
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Do you call a yid who's had a giyur LECHUMRA "Ben/Bat Avraham Avinu"?
Do you call a yid who's had a giyur LECHUMRA "Ben/Bat Avraham Avinu"?
So basically if a yid grows up with the Hebrew name Shlomo ben Chaim or something like that then finds out his yichus is ...
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Replacement kesubah but the father had a name change
I heard an interesting question but didn't hear the answer. There are laws about what to do when someone loses their Kesubah. They write something new called a kesubah d'irkesa, which is a document ...
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In prayer for sick, can one name count for two people?
On Shabbat morning, the gabbai prays for the sick to be healed and reads out a list of names of sick people, that was provided by the community.
In the case where two sick people have the same name (...
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What determines whether a man's Hebrew name uses "ben" or "bar"?
I have (obviously) heard a lot of Hebrew names of the form "Ploiny ben Almoiny," where Almoiny is Ploiny's father. But occasionally I see names written with the Aramaic "bar", for example Simon bar ...
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Why are there only 8 Martyrs in the Tisha b'av kinnos
The kinna on Tisha b'av says there are 10 Martyrs, but only 8 are named.
In the Yom Kippur version, however, all 10 are mentioned. Why are 2 missing from Tisha b'av?
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Does a Kohen have to be concerned about the surname of a potential mate?
In this question various surnames are explored that are strongly associated with being a Kohein. Some of them are rather unambiguously chosen simply because the chooser wanted to indicate their status....
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Children's Names
I noticed a lot of times in the TaNaKh, how children were given specific names for a specific reason.
Take Binyamin for example, his original name at birth was "Benoni" (son of my sorrow) but his ...
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Why do we call people up to the Torah by name?
In shul, if a guest is honored with an aliyah, I watch as the gabbai walks over (or sends someone) to get the guest's name, then call that same person up by that name. Once the guest has been told ...
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Writing the woman's name in a kasubah or get: Plonis *ben* Ploni
Instead of writing the name of the kallah (bride) Rivka bat Chaim (for example) it was written Rivka ben Chaim. In such a case what's the halacha? By a kasubah is it valid? Does it have to be written ...
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Knowledge of meanings of Hebrew names in Daniel
I have being doing a study on Daniel and the meanings of the names of Daniel and his friends and wondered how these would be understood between the friends. For example my name is Stephen, meaning ...
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Source for forgiveness at a Bris Milah for those who share the baby's name
I have heard many times that if one is present at a Bris Milah and the baby receives the same name as them, they receive forgiveness for all of their sins and/or some sort of special Beracha.
Is ...
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What is the proper voweling (Nikud) for Metatron?
I have seen many variations of this and wonder if anyone could tell me which is the most correct?
These variations include:
מֶטָטְרוֹן (Meṭāṭ'rōn)
מְטַטְרוֹן (Măṭaṭ'rōn)
מֵיטַטְרוֹן (Mēyṭaṭ'rōn)
...
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How to refer to a Kohain with suspended privileges in prayer
When a Kohain chas v'Shalom marries a divorcée or convert, halacha requires us to suspend his privileges - he may not receive the first aliyah during the Torah reading, duchen, etc, until such time as ...
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Multiple characters with the same name in the bible
In the Bible most of the names are unique, especially for the main characters.
As far as I know there is only one Abraham and only one Moses etc.
There are some names that appear more than once like ...
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Are there any limitations on changing a personal name in Halachah?
Following "naming-a-child-an-embarrassing-name", I stated, based on my personal understanding, that there are no Halachic limitations on how a person calls himself and how he can change his names ...
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Does anyone comment on the name Reu'el for Eisav's son?
In Vayishlach (Ber. 36:10) Eisav has a son named Reu'el. While the meanings of/reasons for the names of those in Eisav's line are not provided, it seems to me that this name sticks out because it ...
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Different methods of naming the 70 nations
When listing the descendants of Noah in Gen 10,1 and on the Torah uses different naming methods:
Names in the singular: "וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת בְּנֵי־נֹחַ שֵׁם חָם וָיָפֶת וַיִּוָּלְדוּ לָהֶם בָּנִים ...
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Why does Rashi call tzeirei and segol "kamatz katan" and "patach katan"
Rashi often refers to tzeirei as "kamatz katan" and segol as "patach katan". Why? In what sense are they smaller versions of kamatz and patach?
I understand that kamatz and tzeirei are תנועות ...
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Why isn't having a masechet with the name as the seder a concern in Taharot?
Kehati's introduction to Moed Katan says that it is not called Moed so as not to cause confusion, as the seder has the same name. However, this doesn't seem to be a concern for masechet Taharot in ...
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Naming after two people
Can one person be given one name (as opposed to a double name) which is meant to "correspond" to two different deceased individuals?
I.e. Chaim and Shprintza have a daughter. Chaim's grandmother was ...
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What is the proper hebrew pronunciation of Rav Hirsch's first name?
Among the Modern Orthodox I hear Rav Hirsch's name only said in its English form ("Samson"). Amongst the Yeshivish I hear the form "Shamshon." My question is, was his Hebrew name Shamshon or Shimshon?
...
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Grammatical origins of names in Tanach
Almost all nouns in Hebrew fit into one of several standard "templates". For example, מִבְחָן comes from the root בחנ combined with the pattern מִפְעָל (already used by many other words). There would ...
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Why don't Ramaniote Jews use the hei in names?
I am named after my grandfather and great grandfather on my mother's side, both of whom were Ramaniote. My name, therefore, is "Avram Mosh" (אברם מוש) instead of "Avraham Moshe" (אברהם משה). I've been ...
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MiSheBerach for someone who doesn't like his/her own name
Another question asked about a case in which someone does not want to use his/her mother's name in a MiSheBerach.
What if someone dislikes his/her own given name and goes by a different name? What ...
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Why are Masekhtot referred to by content while Humashim by their first word(s)?
Hamishah Humshe'i Torah (i.e. The Five Books of Moses) are most commonly referred to by the first word(s) in each (e.g. "Bereshit bara", "We'eleh HaDevarim"), though I'm aware of commentators (e.g. ...
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Sheva and Dedan
Is there any connection between Sheva and Dedan, sons of Yokshan ben Avraham (Beresheet 25:3, Divrei Hayamim 1:1:32) and Sheva and Dedan, sons of Ra'ama ben Cush (Beresheet 10:7)?
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Getting a Jewish name
What is the procedure for giving a Jew a Jewish name if he or she was never given one at birth?
Are there any sources that discuss this situation?
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Names of angels
There is a pretty well known point made in the Talmud Yerushalmi Rosh Hashana 1:2
stating that the names we are accustomed to calling the months of our lunar calendar came up with those returning from ...
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Who is Rav Tzvi HaLevi?
Below is a ketuba for a bride name Chaya bat Yehuda, and Yehuda's father is shown as Rav Tzvi HaLevy.
I know for a fact from people who knew him and from multiple original source documents including ...
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Is the name Rami mentioned in the gemarah the full version?
I am trying to ascertain if the name "Rami" is a Jewish one.
If rabbis in the Babylonian Talmud are named Rami then that would be a good indication.
There are at least 3 Ramis found in the gemarah:
...
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Jacob's Dual Names and Wives
The third Patriarch's birth name was Jacob. He is given another name, Israel, in Genesis 32. Jacob had two primary wives; Leah and Rachel.
I have heard the idea that the Rachel was the betrothed ...
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Are there any name combinations that may not be used?
Are there any combinations of names that may not be given? There are many names which aren't commonly paired together but is there any reason not to or just common practice and preference?
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Non-Jew who takes a Jewish name
Let's say someone goes through an invalid conversion, and now they incorrectly think they are Jewish. They pick a Jewish name for themselves, and they are called up to the Torah by that name and use ...
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Calling a Muslim leader an "Imam"
Is there a halachic issue with referring to a Muslim imam by the title "Imam" (or "Imam __" with the person's name inserted in place of the underscore)?
Here are the thoughts that lead me to ask this ...
user3318
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Anywhere in Tanach where brothers-in-law have the same name?
Is there anywhere in Tanach where brothers-in-law have the same name?
Either two sisters married men with the same name, or a woman married someone with the same name as her brother.
There is a ...
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Using someone's mother/father's disliked name for ritual purposes
Closely related to this question, what happens if someone's mother or father doesn't/didn't like her or his name, and the child now either needs a MiSheBerach or is called to the Torah? What name ...
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Different names for Dovid in regular Selichos vs Yom Kippur Selichos
Why do we refer to Dovid Hamelech as "Mashiach Tzidkecha" in Selichos (towards the end, paragraph begins with those words) except on Yom Kippur when we refer to him as "Dovid Avdecha" (in the same ...
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The father's or mother's name in the "Ribbono Shel Olam" (Yom Tov)
In the "Ribonno Shel Olam" prayer which we say on Yom Tov prior to taking out the Torah, there seems to be a major difference of opinion between certain siddurim (prayer books). Some have the ...
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Why is the term שליט"א more commonly used for a rav than the term נ"י?
As a follow up to this answer to a M.Y. question, why is שליט"א more commonly used after a notable Rav's name than the term נירו יאיר (or נ"י, as an abbreviation)?
A wise person, such as a rav is ...
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Are there any sefarim about Melech David
Today we named our son David at the Brit Mila and I realized I wanted to learn more about King David. Outside of Tehilim and Shmuel I&II (which are understandably the core sources), does anyone ...
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Significance of Names
It is well known that one's name has profound significance regarding his/her essence. The name itself is important, as is the name along with the father's and mother's name.
My question is, what other ...
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Ruach Hakodesh when Naming a Child for an Ancestor?
The Arizal says that parents having a certain level of ruach hakodesh when naming their child.
Sha’ar HaGilgulim (23:8) - ונמצא כי כאשר נולד האדם וקוראים לו אביו
ואמו שם אחד העולה בדעתם אינו באקראי ...
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What is the significance of leaving out the suffix-"vav" and/or adding it to אֲדֹנִיָּה?
What is the significance of leaving out the suffix-"vav" and/or adding it to the name אֲדֹנִיָּה?
Of the 15 times the name of the antagonist or bad character is mentioned in 1 Kings 1, three ...
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Your name shall be 'Yisrael', but what does it mean and why so?
In relation to another question of mine I would like to know what the name Yisrael really means.
It literally says Ya'akov is now names Yisrael because he has struggled AND has overcome.
I heard ...
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Halachot of Naming (kids)
Has naming children ever formed systematized Halachot?
Or is it left as a sort of a prophecy to the parents?
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Explanation for the name Rebbi Nechunya ben HaKaneh
Is there an explanation the Tanna Rebbi Nechunya's surname ben "HaKaneh" - son of the reed?
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Popular Yiddish name for a baby girl born to an unmarried girl
As per the Sefer Bris Avos (8-33), Sefer Ha'bris (page 318-22) and Zocher Ha'bris (24-17) the name Zindel/Zundel or Isser/Issur was used to name a boy born to an unmarried girl. What was the common ...
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Will I lose out by not having grandchildren named after me?
Someone has a very strange Jewish name and he doesn't want to trouble his children to feel pressured to name their children after him when he passes away. He also feels bad that a grandchild should ...
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