Neither my husband nor I grew up in households that were religious, and while the name doesn’t immediately set off any alarm bells, I was hoping to get some input on the name Maccabee as far as religious implications go. Are there any? Is it too religious to use for a child who will not grow up with religion?
It would be used as a middle name - [name]George[/name] Maccabee Sh_____ (two syllables), with his daily name being [name]Mac[/name] ([name]George[/name] is a family name, and it seems like it tends to overpower other names so, we have always assumed [name]George[/name] would be a first name, and we would use our son’s middle name as his “common name”, which I know isn’t always a popular concept, but that is how we will roll for this dude most likely).
I have never understood just putting a random name in the middle, especially something as specific as this. If you’re going to call him [name]Mac[/name], how about something like [name]Malcolm[/name] [name]George[/name]? I don’t think [name]George[/name] overpowers in the middle spot.
Not sure if it’s random, the op might really love the name, but I agree with the idea of [name]Malcolm[/name] [name]George[/name]. If you are going to call him [name]Mac[/name], then just put in the first name spot. Otherwise most people will just assume he is [name]George[/name] and his whole life he’ll have to speak up and say “I go by [name]Mac[/name].” This would just annoy me to bits!
As for the religious implication, I’m not sure how offensive it is, but it’s a surname, not a first name, so personally I’m not fan unless it happens to be family name.
From what I’ve read Maccabee was originally a surname meaning ‘the hammer’, and the religious associations are largely positive and rather ancient, so I doubt you’d offend anybody. I think it’s great to revisit historical themes.
If I met anyone named Maccabee, I’d assume they were Jewish. The Maccabees were a Jewish rebel group that took control of Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE. It was during this time that the celebration of Chanukah began. According to Wikipedia, some scholars consider the Maccabean revolt to be a civil war, and others a war of national liberation. It seems a bit strange to use this term if you aren’t really familiar with what it means. If you use it, you should be aware that some may see it as a religious or even a political statement.
Honestly, I’d go with something with less history like [name]Cormac[/name], [name]Macaulay[/name] (I think time has distanced it sufficiently from Mr Culkin), or [name]Macon[/name].
It was actually a conscious pick, and less random. I personally enjoy the name (and dislike [name]Malcolm[/name]). I enjoyed the strong meaning behind the name, but, I don’t have a super in depth understanding of the name as it pertains to Judaism, so I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t missing anything before we started to consider it (For example, my husband and I both really liked the name [name]Rockwell[/name] – however, [name]George[/name] [name]Rockwell[/name] was the founder of the American Nazi Party…sooooo…that doesn’t work out too well…and some how we managed to overlook that gem.)
And nope, you are totally right, [name]George[/name] works really well as a middle name to [name]Malcolm[/name].
I am definitely aware of the history behind and surrounding the name, this was me checking to make sure there were not any religious implications that I had overlooked.
Personally, I am huge fan of names with history…and would totally disagree that time has not distanced Mr. Culkin from his first name, not even with my aging mother.
My husband actually goes by his middle name, and always has. He is the one who suggested using [name]George[/name] as a first name (When we were considering [name]George[/name] and [name]Henry[/name]) and your concern was mine. He has said, that it was his experience that after the first day of school there was never a time where people had a hard time calling him by his name (middle). From social situations to formal situations he has says that he has never experienced any problems and that people are quick to call him [name]Gray[/name]. As it stands now, most people who have known him for 12+ years have no idea that his name isn’t actually his first name. However, I do appreciate that people have a really hard time with this concept when we are talking about it - just like they have issues with the idea that we named our first son [name]Wesley[/name], but only call him [name]Wes[/name] (Why didn’t you just call him [name]Wes[/name]?). So, I am used to people thinking this is an odd practice.
I’m not Jewish so if someone who is can chime in you should trust their opinion over mine…
In middle school they were trying to include different religions besides Christianity in our winter musical concert. I remember that a line of one of the songs was “[name]Praise[/name] the Maccabean name who saved his land from grief and shame” so I think it has a positive connotation in Judiasm. Whether or not Jews would be offended by a non-Jewish person using it–I have no idea. Especially since you’re not using it as a first, it doesn’t seem particularly culturally insensitive to me.
[name]Ah[/name], okay. From your initial post, I was unclear of whether you knew the story or just liked the sound of it. My apologies. If you know the history and are using it, that’s totally cool. I am also a fan of names with history as well, as long as you’re aware of what it means.
The people with the surname Maccabee and their followers lived in the 2nd century…if any of them have living descendants, we’re probably all related to them by now. Given that the history is positive, I really don’t see why anyone would have issues with it–Jewish or otherwise.
I think it’s fine. Maccabee is a fun name with a rich history. It’s the perfect choice for the middle spot. To be fair though, I would assume you were religious.
That was my fault, I tend to write novels, and didn’t want to bore everyone with a super long post - but I think my “stayed up to late, 33 weeks pregnant in 100 degree weather” brain got the best of my thought process! Hopefully I didn’t come off snarky because that isn’t at all how it was intended.
Speaking as the token Jew ( ), i don’t find it offensive - just super odd. Like REALLY odd. We don’t really use Maccabee as a name, it’s more like a title or something at this point. Several of the professional sports teams in [name]Israel[/name] are called Maccabi (ie Maccabi Tel [name]Aviv[/name]), kind of like the way more than one British soccer team is X United. It’s Jewishly patriotic I suppose, rather than sacred. But still too meaningful historically for it to have caught on for casual use. The Maccabees who began the revolt of Chankuah started a royal dynasty that ruled for several hundred years, with mixed political and religious results: some great rulers and some terrible ones, and the actions of some of them led to the destruction of the second [name]Temple[/name] and the exile that lasts til today. If someone knows that aspect of Jewish history, using the term as a first name becomes sort of awkward, especially because we don’t, as a rule, use the surnames-as-first-names method of honoring.
Shrug Like I said, it’s not horrible or offensive for you to use it from my/our POV, just strange or suprising.
Speaking as the token Jew ( ), i don’t find it offensive - just super odd. Like REALLY odd. We don’t really use Maccabee as a name, it’s more like a title or something at this point. Several of the professional sports teams in [name]Israel[/name] are called Maccabi (ie Maccabi Tel [name]Aviv[/name]), kind of like the way more than one British soccer team is X United. It’s Jewishly patriotic I suppose, rather than sacred. But still too meaningful historically for it to have caught on for casual use. The Maccabees who began the revolt of Chankuah started a royal dynasty that ruled for several hundred years, with mixed political and religious results: some great rulers and some terrible ones, and the actions of some of them led to the destruction of the second [name]Temple[/name] and the exile that lasts til today. If someone knows that aspect of Jewish history, using the term as a first name becomes sort of awkward, especially because we don’t, as a rule, use the surnames-as-first-names method of honoring.
Shrug Like I said, it’s not horrible or offensive for you to use it from my/our POV, just strange or suprising.
), i don’t find it offensive - just super odd. Like REALLY odd. We don’t really use Maccabee as a name, it’s more like a title or something at this point. Several of the professional sports teams in [name]Israel[/name] are called Maccabi (ie Maccabi Tel [name]Aviv[/name]), kind of like the way more than one British soccer team is X United. It’s Jewishly patriotic I suppose, rather than sacred. But still too meaningful historically for it to have caught on for casual use. The Maccabees who began the revolt of Chankuah started a royal dynasty that ruled for several hundred years, with mixed political and religious results: some great rulers and some terrible ones, and the actions of some of them led to the destruction of the second [name]Temple[/name] and the exile that lasts til today. If someone knows that aspect of Jewish history, using the term as a first name becomes sort of awkward, especially because we don’t, as a rule, use the surnames-as-first-names method of honoring.