In our Secular Humanistic Jewish movement, we welcome all babies to the world and to the Jewish community in the same way, with a lovely baby-naming ceremony created with the parents.
Most new parents have already chosen English names for their babies, but many are not sure how to find a Jewish name. Here are a couple of ideas illustrated with examples from baby-namings I’ve done over the years:
You can name your baby for an ancestor who had a particular trait you’d like your baby to have, too. Here’s an example: We have given you the Hebrew name of Abraham. …Abraham was … the name of your great-grandfather, a man who loved his family very much, and a man who always made everyone around him feel very special. He was a brave honorable hero because of all the good deeds he did for his country during World War 2. May you inherit these qualities along with his name.
Or you can name your baby for an idea or description. Here’s an example: We give you the Hebrew name Liora Shiri. … Like your (English) name Nora, Liora also means “light.” The name Shiri means “my song.” We have given you this name to represent the importance of music in our family. You are our new song, and it is our wish that together as a family we can harmonize like a string quartet.
You might translate your baby’s English name. Lily in English becomes the Hebrew Shoshana. Sometimes the English name is actually a Hebrew name, like David. In that case, you can choose to use the Hebrew name David, too.
The Jewish name doesn’t have to be Hebrew. It can also be Yiddish. Reyzl (little rose), Sheyna (pretty), Ber and Vulf (bear and wolf, of course) are a few examples.
It’s also perfectly fine to give your child a name you just like.
Sometimes a child will be given yet another name. It is common for those of Chinese heritage to allow their parents – the child’s grandparents – to choose a Chinese name. That name belongs in the ceremony, too!
Here’s an example of a message I received from friends: Can you recommend a Jewish name that fits with Chloe? According to a quick glance on the net, Chloe is “derived from the Greek Khloē (blooming, verdant). The name was used as a summer epithet of Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture and fertility.” And some web resources mention that the name means “green shoot” in Greek.
Here’s my response: Going with a “blooming” theme, there’s Blumeh (flower), Yazmin (jasmine),Shoshana (lily), Vered or Reyzl (rose), Irit (asphodel, but also means green onions), Nurit (buttercup or possibly ranunculus), Sigal or Sigalit (violet). With green shoot, Tamar (palm tree), Hadas or Hadassah (myrtle), Dalia (branch) or Dalit (climbing vine). If you would rather it sound like Chloe, there’s Kayla or Kelilah, which is a laurel crown, so it’s also green! Or Kalanit (anemone). (I like these because they have the same sound as the name but also mean something connected.)
(They chose Kelilah)