Give me a name, and i'll give you a... hebrew name

something about these forums, man. just draws you back in right when you have a million other things to do.

anyway, i’m in the market for some help practicing my Hebrew skills, and i figured what better way than another thing i like? names!

the “hebrew name” is a diasporic religious thing, where the name is used instead of a baby’s secular one in religious contexts. they’re also pretty fun to come up with.

your challenge: give me a name. any name! just limit yourself to one or two at a time - eg, give me 1 or 2 separate first names, or 1 combo, only.

my challenge: first, i will transliterate the above name into Hebrew. for fun, I will include my first off the wall attempt, and then i’ll probably include the accurate accepted version so i can actually improve my skills. second, i will write down a few options of what i, personally, would use as a hebrew name for that secular name. since a hebrew name can be based off of sound, meaning, and/or vibes, this a creative challenge for me. truly making learning fun in 2023.

let the naming begin!

6 Likes

This is so fun and I’d love to see [name_u]Rose[/name_u]! ty in advance :heartpulse:

I’d love to see [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] and [name_f]Kate[/name_f] please, if you have time! Thank you so much :heart:

I’d love to see Conrad please, thank you so much for doing this!

Thank you for offering this :heart: I’d love to see [name_f]Grace[/name_f] or [name_f]Tansy[/name_f] (whichever you feel inspired by)

Thank you so much! I’d love to see [name_u]Kelsey[/name_u]

Thanks for offering this! I’d love to see [name_f]Clio[/name_f] please

i’d like to see athena and edwin! thank you :heart:

@rosefairiie

[name_u]Rose[/name_u]

immediate first guess is רוז. I’d use a sin or a samech, but the way I say it, it really ends in a z sound lol.
actual transliteration: רוס or רוש. so exactly what i said i wasn’t going to use.
as for a translation, I’d probably go for [name_f]Vered[/name_f] (ורד), which is the Hebrew word for rose.

@lilyofthevale

[name_f]Jessica[/name_f]

first guess is יסאיקה. I can also see a shin being used instead of a samech. [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] is hard because Hebrew doesn’t actually have a J sound! It’s all "y"s.
…and i was very off. גישכה or גישיקה. I can’t imagine using a g sound for jessica, it sounds so nasally.
hmm… [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] comes from the Hebrew Yiskah (יסכה), which means behold, so thats an option. I see a yud, hey, and a samech in there, so maybe [name_f]Yasmin[/name_f] (יסמין) or [name_m]Yonah[/name_m] (יונה) too?

[name_f]Kate[/name_f]

[name_f]Kate[/name_f]. Going with כאית. I can also see קאית, or in both examples replacing the ת with a ט.
and it turns out i don’t actually need the אי to show the vowel sound, bc the options showing up are כט or קט. I think I would go with קט, because ק is more fun to write.
[name_f]Kate[/name_f] is a nickname for [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], which doesn’t have an accepted meaning but is most likely related to either [name_f]Hecate[/name_f] or Katharos (“pure”). I might go with [name_u]Zohar[/name_u] (זהר), which is the name of a book of Kabbalah and therefore related in vibes to [name_f]Hecate[/name_f], or I might go with [name_m]Tam[/name_m] (תם), which means “innocence”.

more to come, dw!

4 Likes

This is so cool, James!! I’d love to see what you think of for [name_f]Sunshine[/name_f] or [name_f]Pacifica[/name_f], whichever one inspires you!

Ooh, cool. What about [name_u]Vivian[/name_u]? (for a girl)

ah hi james !! i feel like i haven’t seen you on the forums for a really long time <3 thank you for doing this

i’d love to see what you get for my name, pippa, and/or for my current most beloved, mercury (b).

wow this is fascinating and so interesting to read! Would you be able to do [name_f]Melody[/name_f]?

I’d love to see your picks for my name: [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]! I am so thrilled about this

@Luellia

[name_m]Conrad[/name_m]

First guess: כונרד.
Actual transliteration: כונרד or קונרד. Ha! First correct guess of the thread.

[name_m]Conrad[/name_m] means “brave counsel” and derives from old [name_m]German[/name_m], so I’m tempted to use a Yiddish name. Maybe Velvel (וועלוול) - “little wolf” - or [name_m]Zalman[/name_m] (זלמן) - Yiddish form of [name_m]Solomon[/name_m]. I’ve also always thought [name_m]Conrad[/name_m] sounds like comrade, so maybe the Hebrew [name_u]Amit[/name_u] (עמית), which also means “friend”

@Greyblue

[name_f]Grace[/name_f]

First guess: גראיש or גראיס
Actual transliteration: גרש or גרס. I once again fall into the trap of trying to signal too many vowels.

[name_f]Hannah[/name_f] means grace, so maybe [name_f]Chana[/name_f] (חנה). The Hebrew word for grace is [name_m]Chen[/name_m] (חן), so that’s another option.

[name_f]Tansy[/name_f]

First guess: תנסי or טנסי. [name_u]Or[/name_u] with a sin instead of a samech.
Actual transliteration: טנסי or טנשי

[name_f]Tansy[/name_f] is a type of yellow flower, so bring on all the different Hebrew flower names. Some options are [name_f]Neta[/name_f] (נטע), [name_f]Nitza[/name_f] (נצה), and Smadar (סמדר) - all variations of the same meaning of “plant/flower/blossom”. However, my favorite options are [name_f]Nurit[/name_f] (נורית) - meaning “buttercup flower” - or Yaara (יערה) - meaning “honeysuckle”.

@KT4

[name_u]Kelsey[/name_u]

First guess: כלסי or כלשי. Not feeling a ק with this one.
Actual transliteration: קלסיי or כלסיי. so close, so far from correct.

[name_u]Kelsey[/name_u] is a unisex, modern surname, so I’m going to try and go for that kind of vibe. Maybe [name_f]Keshet[/name_f] (קשת), [name_m]Chen[/name_m] (חן) or [name_u]Aviv[/name_u] (אביב)?

@LeafTree

[name_f]Clio[/name_f]

first guess: כליאן. debating whether I really need the yud, but i think thats what stops it from being pronounced as “clo” instead of “clio”
actual: כליו or קליו. I was right that I needed the yud, it was the aleph that was unnecessary.

[name_f]Clio[/name_f] means “glory” and she was a muse of history and heroic poetry. For that reason, I want to go with [name_f]Davida[/name_f] (דודה), [name_f]Shira[/name_f] (שירה), or [name_f]Shulamit[/name_f] (שולמית) as her Hebrew name. [name_f]Davida[/name_f], for [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_u]David[/name_u]. [name_f]Shira[/name_f] for its meaning of “song”, which relates to [name_u]David[/name_u] and [name_m]Solomon[/name_m]. and [name_f]Shulamit[/name_f] as it comes from the Songs of [name_m]Solomon[/name_m].

@AStudyIn_Scarlet

[name_f]Athena[/name_f]

first guess: עתנה. Could also see a ט in there, or an aleph.
actual: אטהנה or עטהנה

[name_f]Athena[/name_f] was a [name_f]Goddess[/name_f] of wisdom, so I want to find just as powerful a vibe for her Hebrew name. [name_f]Shlomit[/name_f] (שלומית), which means “peaceful”, is a variation of [name_m]Shlomo[/name_m] (שלמה), the Hebrew name for [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_m]Solomon[/name_m], who was known for being wise. I’m also interested in the names of other powerful Jewish women, such as [name_u]Yehudit[/name_u] (יהודית) or [name_f]Devorah[/name_f] (דבורה), and the names of the Jewish matriarchs: [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] (שרה), [name_f]Rivka[/name_f] (ריבקה), [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] (רחל), & [name_f]Leah[/name_f] (לאה). However, the only [name_f]Athena[/name_f] I’ve met had her Hebrew name as [name_f]Ahava[/name_f] (אהבה), the word for love :heart:

[name_m]Edwin[/name_m]

first guess: עדבין.
actual: אדווין or אדוין. This one was hard.

[name_m]Edwin[/name_m] means “rich friend”. I’m looking for names that are a little clunky and that have either of those meanings. Maybe [name_m]Asaf[/name_m] (אסף) - collector - or [name_u]Amit[/name_u] (אמית) - friend? I’m also attracted to [name_u]Paz[/name_u] (פז) and [name_m]Ravid[/name_m] (רביד), meaning “gold” and “ornament”, but they’re not quite as clunky cool.

5 Likes

Thanks for offering this, [name_u]James[/name_u]! I’d love to see a Hebrew name for [name_f]Amparo[/name_f].

I’d love to see Clara Scarlett please. Thank you for doing this!

This is really neat. [name_m]Bryan[/name_m] [name_u]Scott[/name_u] would be great, if you have time.

this is so real :joy:

i would love to see nolan, thanks for offering this!

@MagnoliaE thank you so much!! Your translations look pretty close to my unexperienced eye too :slight_smile: [name_f]Chana[/name_f] is lovely and [name_m]Chen[/name_m] is intriguing too! [name_u]Love[/name_u] your way of translating [name_f]Tansy[/name_f] too [name_f]Neta[/name_f] and [name_f]Nitza[/name_f] are great but [name_f]Nurit[/name_f] and Yaara are dreamy!
Thank you again :heart: