Jez

So, a little background, hedgehogs are a very special animal to me - to the point I actually have a hedgehog tattoo - so I always thought it’d be cute to call my wee ones “little hedgehogs” as a pet name while they’re young. BUT awhile back I actually stumbled across [name_f]Jez[/name_f] which MEANS “hedgehog” and immediately put it down as a nickname for [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m]. Today as I was looking over my list I wondered…could [name_f]Jez[/name_f] work for [name_u]Jude[/name_u] Emerys as well? I’m more likely to use that name than I am to use [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m], and I feel like all the sounds are there. Is it too stretchy? I’m kinda loving it now but idk if it works. Thoughts?

It could work but feels feminine to me if Im honest. As a nickname for [name_f]Jezebel[/name_f] or [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] it makes more sense.

To me [name_f]Jez[/name_f] makes more sense for [name_u]Jude[/name_u] [name_u]Emrys[/name_u] than for [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m]!

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Yes, I think [name_f]Jez[/name_f] could be a usable nickname for either [name_u]Jude[/name_u] Emerys or [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m]! :slight_smile:

To my ear, it probably works a bit better with the latter (similar to [name_u]Gary[/name_u] → Gaz). There are also other names that begin with [name_f]Jez[/name_f], e.g. [name_m]Jeziah[/name_m] and [name_m]Jeziel[/name_m].

(Out of curiosity, which language does it mean “hedgehog” in? I looked it up here on Nameberry, and only found the Hebrew meaning “not exalted”.)

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From my research it means hedgehog in Polish, Croatian and Slovenian. It comes up as meaning hedgehog on ancestry . com and google translate also translates hedgehog to [name_f]Jez[/name_f], Jeż or Jež in those languages.

Further research says it’s pronounced more like “Yesh” in those languages though, which I didn’t originally know, so I wonder if I could get away with [name_f]Jez[/name_f] pronounced with an American J sound…hmm…

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[name_u]Jude[/name_u] Emerys nn [name_f]Jez[/name_f] works perfectly! love it!

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I think it could work for any J name! But I don’t love it as much for Jude, because Jude and Jez are both one syllable so to me it feels a little random (I understand that it’d come from the combination of Jude Emrys, but most people he’d meet wouldn’t know that). I’d prefer Judah “Jez” for example! Or Jeremiah as you said.

Not to say that you can’t use Jez for Jude, it still works! It’s just slightly more confusing than using it for a longer name would be.

It’s actually pronounced yezh (thick Z sound, not “sh” sound)! You can still use Jez pronounced the English way, but for me that removes any connection to hedgehogs, and just makes it a random nickname that you like. Which is fine too!

[name_f]Jez[/name_f] works as a nickname for [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m] better. [name_m]Jeremy[/name_m] also has a common nickname as [name_f]Jez[/name_f] that’s why I think it works better for [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m]. I don’t get how you get [name_f]Jez[/name_f] from [name_u]Jude[/name_u] at all.

I think name nerds get the [name_u]Jude[/name_u] [name_u]Emrys[/name_u] = [name_f]Jez[/name_f] but I agree either the point made above along the lines of: why use [name_f]Jez[/name_f] when [name_u]Jude[/name_u] is right there also bring one syllable? I soulful consider using [name_f]Jez[/name_f] as a name if I wanted it to nn for [name_u]Jude[/name_u]. (I have a good friend called [name_f]Jez[/name_f], from [name_m]Jeremy[/name_m] but he gets [name_m]Jeremy[/name_m] half the time too.) I think [name_f]Jez[/name_f] could be used for [name_u]Jude[/name_u], just not sure if you’d want to once you’d named a baby [name_u]Jude[/name_u]?

Thanks for sharing the language derivations! That’s so cool! :hedgehog:

I think [name_f]Jez[/name_f] is a great way to include the hedgehog meaning, even if you use a slightly modified pronunciation. :slight_smile:

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It seems like a stretch for both names imo. Maybe if the middle name was [name_u]Ezra[/name_u] or [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] Incould see it better.

I will say though, my son being named [name_m]Jabez[/name_m] when I read the post name before even reading this thought, I could see that being a nickname for him.