Shem / Shemuel

[tummytickler]

Hi all
After my thread on Graham/Gladys last night i talked to dh further about Shem.
I think it is starting to grow on me.
It is a name in its own right or a shortening of Shemuel.
What is your general opinion on Shem/Shemuel?
Which do you prefer?
Will I have to correct people constantly as it is a little similar to Samuel.
I say the end of the name as more distinct in Shemuel then Samuel (Shem - you -el).
Also we are not Jewish - does this matter - we already have Amos and Eli (alhtough girls names are flowers and jewels).
Stuck for mn aswell as none of our family names fit except maybe Josiah after dh?
Looking forward to some honest opinions as always!

I know a Shem. I like it.

LOL at Sean Connery attempting to say Samuel, but that is the crux of the matter.

It feels a bit contrived, tbh.

Not being Jewish does not matter, except that is why you did not know that it means "name" and sounds strange in Yiddish. If you are going to choose a name from a different culture, you have to make sure that it is spelled correctly/doesn't mean something rude etc. Thank goodness for MN, fountain of all knowledge.

What was wrong with Graham? And Gladys. I like Gladys, it sounds comforting and warm. Like a favourite aunt. Hmm, perhpas that was the problem.

Shemuel doesn't mean 'name' , it means called or asked of God. Though why that matters I'm not too sure - Graham means 'homestead' but I don't think that would be why you'd choose it.

Gladys varously means lame or disabled so that would be even more off-putting ( to me)

I rather like Shem - at least it's a proper name.

I think if we use it we would keep it to just Shem now.
I had read already that it means 'name', I also read called by God, but really i am not all that bothered about meanings of names, it is nice if they have a nice meanning, but really not that imprtant to us.
My other ds apparently means 'bearer of burdens' but i dont expect for one minute that he is giong to have a harder life because of this .
Since dh is almost certainly not going to go for any of my other choices (Obadiah, Mordecai, Mortimer, Cedric to name but a few), and the only one he likes other than this is Ulysses (or Cosmo) then we will stick with this for now (alhtough only tcc at the mo! Plenty of time!)
I think Shem sound good with Amos and Eli, better than Ulysses or Cosmo!

Is Shemuel actually a name? I've not heard of it before.

Yes - Shemuel is actually a name. 'Tis Hebrew

It's the Yiddish/Hebrew version of Samuel.

Shem does mean "name", like Hashem means "The Name".