I was all set with the name [name_f]Freya[/name_f] and now I’ve been hearing people say it sounds biblical/Hebraic. Does anyone else get this vibe from the name? I had thought it sounded Nordic/fairy-like/other-worldly. We are Jewish, but I don’t want my daughter to get pigeon-holed as having a religious sounding name.
(My back up is [name_f]Willa[/name_f]…)
Thank you!!!
No, I don’t get that vibe at all. Freya to me seems like a young British, blue eyed lady, walking perfectly balanced in her polished high heels, carrying a cloud colored parasol that waves in the gentle breeze, on a semi-sunny day.
She’s hopeful of her dreams, but occasionally doubts herself, trying not to give into fear.
She loves her family, but sometimes drifts away from friends. She wants a comfy little cottage to call home, but usually ends up living in anywhere but in the busy streets of the city.
Freya always stands up for what she believes in firmly, without being too harsh and is a loving person who genuinely wants the best for all those who do good.
That’s just the image I get of a Freya. Lovely name!
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] just simply isn’t a Hebrew or religious name at all. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t worry about it.
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] is a Norse goddess so no, absolutely not! It’s a great name:)
I guess I could see [name_f]Freya[/name_f] sounding generally like an “old” name, by which I mean a name with a rich history like biblical names have, but I first think of it as a name that (I think) is fairly popular in the UK but not in [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u], and second I think of it as a Scandinavian name. You can’t control what random impressions people may have about any name, but honestly I wouldn’t worry about this. If people are unfamiliar with it, you can easily just tell them that it’s a Norse name. And I don’t know all of your context, but so many names originated in the Bible and are now widely used - unless you named your children [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f], I doubt I’d notice a biblical connection with a lot of names.
(That said, [name_f]Willa[/name_f] is a great back-up!)
I only know it as a Norwegian name, so no, I don’t think of it as religious at all.
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] is not in the Bible, so I don’t know why people would associate it with that. On the contrary, it’s from mythology, so it’s kind of the opposite of [name_m]Christian[/name_m]. I just hear Scandinavian when I hear it. In the best way possible - I think it’s lovely and it’s creeping up into my favorites!
Lol no. It is a completely religious name, being the name of a goddess it could hardly get more religious! But it’s not Biblical or Hebraic in the slightest, it’s Nordic. I would just laugh if someone said that to me - I really suggest you don’t let it bother you since the people you are talking to clearly don’t know what they’re on about.
Ignore those people. Listen to us!
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] is beautiful. Aside from boys names that end in “iah”, I don’t know what “religious” names in particular are supposed to sound like. The “iah” association seems like a pretty fair connection to me, but yeah. Anyway, some of the most commonly heard names are “religious” names. That seems like such a bizarre thing to say.
[name_f]Willa[/name_f] is also great!
Maybe people are thinking of the name [name_f]Freda[/name_f], which, when pronounced Fray-da is a Yiddish name. But otherwise, no. The opposite of Hebraic sounding. If anything, it’s very [name_m]Aryan[/name_m].
I agree with daisychain, people are probably thinking of Fraida, which is a totally different Yiddish name. I wouldn’t say that [name_f]Freya[/name_f] isn’t religious though, even if the more common association now may be British rather than Norse pagan. I don’t think most people use it without being aware of that aspect though, so it’s up to you how much that matters.
Uh no. Nordic sounding all the way.
I don’t think that [name_f]Freya[/name_f] sounds religious at all. It is an old name, but it sounds very different (at least to me) from Biblical names.
The Hebrew/ Jewish baby name [name_f]Faye[/name_f] means loyalty, with variations [name_f]Fay[/name_f], and [name_f]Fae[/name_f]. [name_f]Feya[/name_f] also Hebrew/ Jewish means fairy with variations, Feyah, and Fayah. [name_f]Freya[/name_f] is, not the same, and certainly a norse [name_f]Goddess[/name_f], however it seems so very similar. It is just a one letter difference. Anything with an “ah” ending, may seems biblical or Hebrew, Jewish or Israeli to many because it is a common ending.
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] doesn’t sound religious at all. I definitely get the same vibe you do in terms of a badass Nordic goddess/[name_f]Fairy[/name_f] princess type thing. I say go for it if you love it!
I don’t get that vibe. I get the norse goddess vibe, which is a great combo of classic & kick @ss, in my opinion.
Well for me as A Norwegian I only think about the Norse goddess.
Since [name_f]Freya[/name_f] is a Nordic goddess name I am surprised people would think it sounds like a biblical name, but I don’t think having a Jewish/biblical name will make your child a target because [name_u]Noah[/name_u], [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f] are all popular in western countries and other underrated biblical names are receiving positive attention too.
I don’t get any religious vibes from [name_f]Freya[/name_f]. I get a very mythological, strong feeling associated with the Nordic goddess! It’s a beautiful name and one of my favorites.
Um nope. Not at all. It’s 100% Nordic! Sounds like your family is just reading in what they want…