Curious about a debate that came up in a subreddit. Is it culturally disrespectful to name your child a Hebrew name when you are not Jewish. I personally never considered this culturally offensive. The name that started the debate was [name_u]Ezra[/name_u]. Also the OP was wanting to use the name for a girl. Which I have also considered using for a future daughter. Give me your thoughts
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for a name like [name_u]Ezra[/name_u], it’s definitely not disrespectful for a boy, and probably not disrespectful for a girl. [name_u]Ezra[/name_u] is widely used among non-Jews and iirc it also appears in the Bible, so it’s meaningful to Christians too in that sense.
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No, plenty of Hebrew names are used very consistently like [name_u]David[/name_u] or [name_u]Michael[/name_u]. I see how some names like say [name_f]Hadassah[/name_f] or [name_f]Shoshannah[/name_f] might be considered that, but Ezra’s pretty popular and it’s in multiple Abrahamic religions not just Judaism. Though me personally I don’t gender bend biblical names (I think [name_u]Ezra[/name_u] and [name_u]Asher[/name_u] for girls are sweet but I won’t do it for my own list) for personal reasons I’m fine with other people doing it
Yea one person commented on the post as a Jewish person and said that use of the name at all was appropriation but that the gender bending made in even more inappropriate. I was so confused bc sooo many Old Testament names are used today by non Jews
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I think [name_u]Ezra[/name_u] is fine to use, it’s used by Jews and Christians and nonreligious people brought up in those traditions. I can’t speak to the gender bending part.
I do find it a little odd when non-Jewish parents are considering a name strongly associated with Judaism, just because a lot of Jewish parents would be hesitant to consider the same name in order to prevent antisemitism towards the child. Choosing [name_u]Christian[/name_u] passing names for this reason is deep rooted and makes the act of choosing a distinctly Jewish name even more entwined with Jewish identity by comparison. [name_f]Hadassah[/name_f] is a good example of a Jewish name that would be especially odd to use as a non-Jew, because it was the name [name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Esther[/name_f] had to hide to avoid violence on account of her Jewish identity.
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[name_u]Ezra[/name_u] is of course Hebrew, but I feel that all Biblical names are part of our (Western-christian) culture, and so it can never be cultural appropriation.
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I personally didn’t know names like [name_f]Shoshannah[/name_f] and [name_f]Hadassah[/name_f] were Jewish. I don’t have a problem with people using names from other cultures. Idk about other people but I feel as though, it’s your child you can give them whatever name you want regardless of religion or culture
My own personal take on this may not be everyone’s, and I don’t think there’s one objective right answer, but I’ll share anyway. This is just my own opinion though— if folks disagree, totally ok! I’m not going to try to change any minds, I just genuinely find this topic interesting and wanted to share 
As a non-Jew, I personally wouldn’t use a Hebrew name, but there’s a huge asterisk / “but” to that— there are certain (in fact, many) names that have been Anglicized and widely used for so long that it’s hard to see that as appropriation. Ezra is a good example— though the name isn’t my cup of tea, I don’t think I’ve ever thought of it as appropriation for anyone to use it. Another example also already mentioned, Hadassah? Yes, I would consider the use of that name in a non-Jewish context potentially appropriative, but that’s just my own personal feeling.
In what now seems like a different life but was actually not that long ago, I once started (and chose to not finish— long story) the process of converting to Judaism, and was preparing for a Conservative Jewish marriage and home. And again, I think it really depends on the name especially for Judaism (this may be true for other practices too, I’m just not as familiar so this is my example). Here’s why I feel that way. One’s Hebrew name is (or at least can be) a meaningful and important part of Jewish cultural and religious practices, and there’s a difference between using an “Old Testament” name that is Anglicized (like Rachel) and the “Hebrew” version of the name (like Rivka). I would personally do the former and not the latter. A name like Miriam, which is technically both because it has widespread use in many cultures, is different.
In general, when it comes to the idea of appropriation, not just for Jewish names but for any cultural name, it’s obviously a complex topic and I think that context, intent, and other specifics change the situation a lot. What I would do may not be what everyone would do, and that’s ok, but I’m generally of the opinion that if I’m torn as to whether something is appropriation, I lean away from it until such a time as I’ve educated myself further and gotten information telling me it isn’t.
But again, I really feel this is an incredibly situational topic and not one that does, or maybe even should, have a one size fits all answer.
(And I feel like I need to end with the caveat that although I was raised in an Abrahamic religion, I am a longtime and fairly devout follower of a non-Abrahamic religion, and this absolutely does affect my own naming practices, so my answer may also be slightly biased based on that.)
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[name_f]My[/name_f] son has a Hebrew name and I am not even religious, let alone Jewish, but I don’t think it’s cultural appropriation at all. It’d be different if the name was [name_u]Cohen[/name_u], but a name like [name_u]Ezra[/name_u] that has been used so widely (or in my case, Reuben) can’t fall under the cultural appropriation category. Not even a bit.
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Im Jewish and while I’d prefer non-Jews not to use it, it’s very common. I think it’s more respectful to use it on a boy (not that it can’t work on anyone) because that’s usually how it’s used within our culture.
I’m a non practicing person of Jewish descent. I don’t have any problem with non Jewish people using Hebrew names.
What I generally tell people when they ask questions like this is that they should care far more about what people directly connected to them and their child think and feel, and far less about what people on the internet think and feel. None of us will ever be directly affected by you giving your child a Hebrew name. If you know any Jewish people in real life, I would ask them what they think. And, not for nothing, but the old testament does not belong to Jewish people, it is part of the christian faith and the catholic faith as well, so no, I don’t think that a name that appears in the bible could be considered appropriative. The only way I would ever feel weird about someone using a biblical name was if they were not just non religious, but explicitly anti religion or anti (specific faith), and gave their child a name of religious significance that is not widely used. In other words, I would find it slightly disrespectful if someone who is anti christian named their child Hezekiah.
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