Rabbis' Baby Names Blacklist
In response to requests from parents afraid of naming the kids with names that could shame them for life, a group of Rabbis in Israel have posted a an online list advising new parents of specific names which they should not use to name their children, notably Ariel and Omri, the names of the current Israeli Prime Minister and his first born son. “Uttering the name Ariel was problematic because it could beckon an angel namesake instead, drawing down his wrath.” Omri, the name of an evil biblical king, should be avoided because of the highly negative connotation. They also advise against naming children after former Gaza settlements such as “Katif” to avoid controversy. While it seems crazy, it is not so outlandish as I highly doubt any new parent in the United States during the past 2 months considered naming their child Katrina. http://www.moriya.org.il/
Also out, according to the HaRav HaGadol HaGaon Badchen, are the following names: Cain, Onan, Moab, Amalek and Haman. And if you’re haredi, you probably should avoid naming your son Samson Raphael.
Ishmael used to be a popular Jewish name until the 7th century. Then it got appropriated by Islam and became unkosher as a jewish name
There’s even Rabbi Ishmael in the Talmud and the Siddur.
More objectionable is the Israeli practice of picking Hebrew names that work well if the kid emigrates – Keren (=Karen) and Dalia (= Dahlia) being just 2 of the more common examples.
Already planning your child’s yerida, eh – pathetic.
Um, maybe they’re just planning so that the kid can interact and work with the English speaking world who doesn’t like the name “Dodo” for some reason. It’s not always a political thing to name your kid something pronounceable by Americans — or, if you’re a bit more future looking, something easliy pronounceable by Chinese speakers.
For american baby names, check out this cool app “Baby Name Wizard”. (note: Java, but not huge.)
Zach…that “Baby Name Wizard” is sooooo coooooool. We’re having a ball playing with it. Thnx.
If I perhaps married an “Osnat”, I could not call out her name across the baggage conveyor belt at JFK. Not without laughing while I did it… and hopefully making everyone else laugh or very confused. And, this is a favorite of mine: “Your name is Drawer?”
may I suggest the addition of “Dudu“
Dudu Pines — definitely yeridah-proof
i think parents should also be considerate of boys names in conjunction with their fathers being too long or multi-syllabic for aliyot. Mine (Yishai Avraham Ben Yonatan Bension) was difficult to begin with but since my old man got an Abashaul from a recent illness, forget about it. Also coolest unused names are definitely Caleb and Jethro. Hands off y’all I got dibs.
> Also coolest unused names are definitely Caleb and Jethro
Maybe if you’re a ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ fan.