Girls Names: combining Jewish and Irish heritage

[rebeccacad]

We've just found out we're having a girl (yay)! It's our first baby and needs a name to go with our surname (sounds like 'Shiver') and in an ideal world I'd like to use the middle name 'Anne' (as it is my mum, my nan and my middle name's).

Our list of names we like so far comprises:
Roberta (Bobbie for short), Eva, Clementine, Ivy, Ariel, Hester Rose, Evelyn, Connie

But when we were thinking of boys names too I came up with Malachy, which I loved as it combined my Irish heritage and my husband's Jewish heritage. I can't think of anything that ticks those boxes for a girl yet - any ideas?

Thanks!

Esther? My grandmother and 2 aunts (Irish) called this.

Ariel is a good Jewish name, though usually used for boys, not girls.

Are you Catholic? I'm Protestant (Anglican) and would have had no difficulty choosing a name that sounded both very Anglican and very Jewish from the Old Testament. But it can be harder for Catholics, whose typical names are often New Testament.

Neither of us are very religious - though happy with a biblical name we wouldn't want something too overtly religious I think.

Esther is nice...thanks!

Old testament names are probably your best bet, there are lots that are popular and would be OK even for non-religious types

Eve
Judith (Judy)
Miriam (Mim)
Naomi
Rachel
Rebecca
Ruth
Sarah

Personally Naomi is my fave, it's on my list in case I have another girl

Thanks - I like Eve a lot. Naomi is out (friend's new baby) - but it is lovely! I'm Rebecca, so that one's out too!!

I love Malachy, and would have liked to use it, but as an English atheist had no excuse .

For a girl :

Hannah

Aoife is apparently Jewish. Pronounced Eefa in Irish. I like it .

Abigail
Ruth
Hannah
Ailish ( covers both bases)
as does Shona ( Seana/Shonagh in Irish)

i also know a couple of children called Golda and Levi- both girls

Ok, this is probably way off, but I know one Irish family and one Jewish family who both have a Flora. Does that fit the bill in any way?

oooo - good ideas! Flora is really nice. The more I think of it the very traditional biblical names aren't for us so this works really well. Will put it on the list. Keep 'em coming - DH will think I've had some major brainwaves today!

My English-Anglican/French-Jewish daughter is Flora, but because it works in both English and French rather than in both religions!

Girls:
Ada
Adel -- 'noble, gracious, elegant'
Aerin -- F. version of Aaron, means 'enlightened'.
Just a few suggestions --
Aila -- 'deer, gazelle'
Anne
Lena -- 'watchtower'
Jemima
Mariah -- version of Mary, older Irish pronunciation of Maria.
Sadie -- traditional Irish nn for Sarah

Also Jordan, Micah. I personally love Rivka, but it's not at all Irish.

Boys:
Daniel
Jethro
Jeremiah (popular in some parts of Ireland for centuries)
Jerome
Joseph
Jonathan
Matthew
Michael or go for the Irish version (pr. MEE-haul)

OK, read your post from start to finish and see it's a girl

I like Naomi and Miriam.

I like Rachel.. Rebecca is a bit harsh imo.

Omg! just guessing your name is Rebecca. Yikes. sorry. I just mean I wouldn't pick it for a baby. It's a perfectly nice name for an adult.

What about Leah ?

Eden

There's a Jewish baby naming method where the first name can be anything the parents feel like giving the child, even one that is very particular to the country of residence, but the middle name is more of a Jewish name and is used for religious ceremonies such as Bat/ Bar Mitzvahs, weddings,etc. Sometimes the names are similar or can be related by their meaning. In general, it's traditional for Jews of Ashkenazi descent to name a baby after deceased relatives or ancestors; the Sephardic tradition is to honour living relatives and ancestors alike.

Gabrielle?