Anyone who begins to think about the meaning of names will realize that names signify identity both in the historic sense as well as how our parents thought we should appear in contemporary society. For committed Jews, personal identity takes on greater ramifications regarding family history and ties, community beliefs and fashions. There is a wealth of literature on Jewish names and naming patterns from the Bible to the most modern trends and fashions in Israel and in the Diaspora. In general, names can be considered as a cultural code, a sort of a key to understanding what is and was going on in the Jewish world. In this article, I will look at Jewish women’s names from biblical times on to see what patterns can be ascertained and what these patterns might mean for an understanding of Jewish communities, past and present.
The given name expresses the thoughts and wishes of the parents for their new-born child. Very often, the child will be given a name in memory of an older member of the family. If the family is of Ashkenazic origin, then they probably will name the child after someone who has died in order to perpetuate his or her memory. In a Sephardi or Oriental Jewish family, the firstborn might be named in honor of a living grandparent. Whatever the case, the child’s first name is a living link with the historic past of that family and an expression of the desire for continuity to the next generation. Above all it is a concretization of the positive value concept of kibbud av va’em– honoring one’s parents.
There are far fewer female names in the Bible than male ones. The main biblical names that have lasted through the generations are those of the matriarchs—Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, and Miriam and Esther. Ironically, Esther, one of the most popular Jewish names, is not Hebrew in origin but rather derived from a Mesopotamian/gentile name of the goddess Ishtar. Some of the biblical women were nameless. The rabbis of the Midrash often sought identifications for these women from other biblical texts. For instance, Noah’s wife is identified as his cousin Na’ama (Gen. 4:22). Pharaoh’s daughter, who raised Moses, is assumed to have converted and married Caleb. She is identified with the appropriately named Bitiah (literally “daughter of God”) mentioned in Chronicles (I Chron. 4:18).
During the latter part of the Second Temple period after the Maccabean revolt, several names become very popular– Miriam, Shlome (Salome) and even Hannah, the mother of the seven boy martyrs. It is no wonder then that these feminine names were also prominent in the fledgling Christian Jewish community. In the early rabbinic period – that of the Mishnah – two women stand out – Rachel, the wife of Rabbi Akiva, and Beruria, the wife of Akiva’s disciple Rabbi Meir. While some scholars derive Beruria’s name from the Latin Valerie, certainly the Hebrew root emphasizing “clarity” fits her role as a scholar, while Rachel is an appropriate name for a woman whose life is dramatically described as one of self sacrifice and love for her “Jacob” (the original form of the diminutive Akiva).1
Rachel/Rahel has been a consistently popular name. Besides the Ashkenazic Rochel, it has been absorbed and fused into Sephardi culture in a variety of ways such as Rahelika (particularly in Ladino), Rashel, Reche, Rakel, Keli. The Kabbalists went a step further by identifying the spiritual characteristics of Mother Rachel –the sephirah of malkhut (majesty) – with the Shekhinah itself. Support for this mystical identification is found in the permutations of Rahel into Ruah-El, i.e.,“The Spirit of God”.2
The Rabbis emphasized the principle of what is termed in Aramaic shema garim, that is, that one’s name has a formative influence on one’s behavior and perhaps on that of one’s descendants. (Compare the general adage “Nomen est omen–A name is a sign.”) An example of this approach is found in the explanation of the name Ruth which the Rabbis derived from the Hebrew root raweh “to satiate” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 7b). The Rabbis claimed that the name is echoed in Ruth’s great grandson David’s desire to satiate the Lord with prayers and supplications as manifested in the Book of Psalms. In the context of the story of Ruth, one should mention that it is Naomi, the dominant character of this book, who most seems to understand the significance of names and the relationship of a name to a person’s existential condition. Her name means “wholesomeness” or “goodness” and in her despair she asks that she be called Mara “bitterness” (Ruth 1:20).3
In all the different Diaspora communities in the Pre-Modern period, the majority of masculine names tended to be Hebrew; while women’s names were more likely to be derived from the vernacular or local languages. This phenomenon was probably due to the fact that men took part in formal communal ceremonies, like the weekly Torah reading and synagogue worship, where they were more likely to use so-called “sacred” (Hebrew) names. For a social historian, women’s names are actually more interesting because they reflect contact with, and influence of, the surrounding gentile world, as well as migrational patterns. Prime examples are the Yiddish feminine names, Yentle, Sprinza, and Tulsa, derived respectively from the Romance languages, Gentile (gentle from Adina), Esperanza (hope from Tikva), and Dulce (sweetness from Metuka). A name like Frumet was derived from vro mout, (good cheer or cheerful) in Middle High German, as spoken by Jews living in the Rhineland (12-13th centuries). Brought to Eastern Europe, it was given the folk etymology of “pious” and pronounced in Yiddish as Fruma or Frima.4
Several years ago I studied a seventeenth century manuscript listing the names of the deceased in the Jewish community of Kaifeng, China. These Jews had been cut off in the 10th century from the main centers of the Jewish world, particularly from their Persian Jewish co-religionists at the western end of the Silk Road; yet they maintained their Jewish identity and observance. One of their ethnic markers was the use of biblical names for both men and women, and Arabic names such as Nur (light), and Qamar (moon), and Persian names such as Dur (pearl), and Shad (happy), for a proportionately higher number of the women.5
Other feminine names reflect objects of beauty, wealth and status especially in the Sephardi Diaspora, such as Oro (gold), Reina (queen), Mazaltov and Fortuna (good luck), Sol (sun), and Luna (moon). The name Bienvenida (welcome) was also popular among Sephardi Jewish families. Traditional Yemenite women’s names tended to be in vernacular Arabic, e.g., Hamama (pigeon), Warda (rose), Ralya (dear, as something expensive), Shama (candle i.e., brightness), and Sinia (having a fair complexion as the Chinese).
There are traditional commemorative names celebrating special days in the Jewish calendar. For a girl born on Passover, a name like Shulamit might be given since it appears in the Song of Songs read during the holiday in synagogue. Esther Malka or Hadassa might be chosen for a girl born on Purim, Yehudit (Judith) for Hanuka, and Nehama (comfort) for a child born on Tisha B’Av.
From the 16th century on, the formation of double names became popular in Eastern Europe – one in Hebrew and the other its Yiddish equivalent as in Esther Itta, and Zippora Feige. Other double names reflect a greater degree of knowledge of the biblical text, such as Chaya Sora (Gen 23:1), which might have been introduced because the girl was born the week of that Torah reading.
Beginning in the early 20th century, modern Israel has seen a renanaissance of creativity in Jewish names. After World War I and the establishment of the Mandate, came the hope of realizing a Hebrew-speaking Jewish state, and there was a break from the traditional stock of names. At first, the names were innovative representing the early Zionist endeavor: female names such as Balfoura, Herzlia, Ziona and Nili.6 In the 1920’s, a new aliya of young highly motivated Jews wanted to strengthen their connection to the Land of Israel based on the Bible rather than on rabbinic tradition. This expressed itself by taking names of minor biblical characters that had been forgotten or even avoided because they were negative characters. Among the female names were Hagar, Asenat, Na’ama, Ruhama and the Canaanite goddess Anat. Some innovative configurations were Hanita and the feminization of traditional masculine names like Meira, Ariella, Gavriella, and Rafaela. At the same time, with the rejection of the Galut, many Yiddish names were Hebraicized, either by being translated so that Golda became Zehava, which in turn became Pazit; or through assonance, so that Perl became Pe’er-li. Similarly, this has also been the case with Sephardi and Yemenite names such as Spanish, Oro (gold) becoming Ora (light) or Yemenite, Rumia (light skinned) becoming Re’uma. Other girls’ names were taken from nature, such as Ilana, Karmit and Deganit. These were followed by the “Li” names: Orli, Lior or Liora, Linora and Lital. The last decade and a half has seen an increased popularity in Israel of monosyllabic, unisex names with a foreign ring. Other than being Hebrew, these “new” names like Tal, Gil, Dor, Or, Bar, Ben, Tom and Dean carry little Jewish cultural content and commitment. As these names become more popular among Israelis, they become a matter of fashion and less a statement of ideology. In fact, as more modern religious families choose them and even find traditional allusions and symbolism in them, there is a tendency to add a second Jewish name in memory of an ancestor. At the same time, other families are seeking more innovative and creative names to express their child’s individuality (Nofar, Ilai, Nov, Tai and Si), only to find in five years that there are another ten children in the kindergarten with the same name.
Turning to the American scene, if you look at the Social Security Administration’s “popular baby names” web site 7 for the last few years, you will see that among the ten most popular women’s names in the USA are Hannah and Abigail, and within the top fifteen – Sarah. This does not mean that Bible study is catching on in the United States, nor does it reflect a growing Jewish influence on American naming patterns. On the contrary, this general fashion probably influences the choice of baby girl names for young Jewish families. These names sound “right”, carrying enough sense of upward mobility, class and style as they evoke a fashionable image of female Jewish identity.
As for the more religiously committed and better Jewishly educated segment of American Jewry, there is an increase in giving more modern Hebrew names. This presumably shows an increased comfort level in America, a strong identification with Israel and a perceived acceptance of a multicultural American society. Checking the roster of Jewish day schools, we find names like Ma’ayan, Meital, Avital and Yakira. This is not a new phenomenon: there is evidence of this trend over forty years ago when the more committed American Jews who had received a modern Jewish education named their daughters Elisheva, Ilana and Yael. But it is more common today.
As we enter the 21st century, it will be interesting to watch the directions taken by names in Jewish communities around the world and in Israel for new sociological and historical directions.