Some suggestions if you please, mamas

We don't know what we're having.... EDD is DD1s birthday! Which is mid september, Rosh HaShanah time. Historically, I have birthed at exactly 42 weeks.

Ideally, I would like to name after my father's Mother or Father who were Hermina and William. My Dad is a convert.

I have found multiple meanings for Hermina including messenger, earthly, noble, and travel. Using Hermina is a possibility, as is Mina. If we use the "h" sound, I love Hadassa using the nickname Dasi. Dh isn't sure about Hadassa. I'm not sure it works with Chaya who is DD1. I Also like Neshama.


For boys (and I know we did this before) I would love William but our last name is too similar. Liam is too close to Ilan (DS1). Last time I think Zephyr or LfE recommended Dov - does this sound like the bird or the action of diving?
We are also drawn to Gili and Tal.

Discuss!

All the names you brought up are absolutely lovely!

In terms of Hadassah, it's a beautiful name (I have a neice who looks just like me w. that name...she's called Dasi :D ). Also, Hadassah Lieberman (Senator Joseph Lieberman's wife) is a public figure, so the name is known even among non-Jews, and the Haddassah Organization founded 100 years ago by Henrietta Szold, which is an American Women's Zionists organization. So the name has a lot of meaning.

Mina is a very sweet name (as would be Hermione, another spinoff of Hermina). I think Herman for a boy would probably rather dated and doesn't fit with the kind of names I can tell you like. You could also do Wilhelmina as a combo of William and Hermina, but again, It doesn't sound like the kind of name you'd prefer. (Though Wilhemina Hadassah has a nice ring to it IMO, but its such a matter of personal taste.

For boys names, the ones you have listed are all lovely, sorry, no inspiration for you now .

american accent Dov would be like the bird dove, rhymes with dug (a hole)
israeli accent is more similar to past of diving into a pool but much shorter b/c americans elongate their vowel sounds and israelis shorten them.

no suggestions. my brother was named after someone named william in english but in hebrew the name they gave was Zev (both middle names). i don;t know what the rationale of that was.

Chavi all of us are lifetime members of Hadassah, male family included! Our Bubbie is her chapter leader. I honestly think that's why DH doesn't like it. Hm.


Emunahbutterfly - Zev was a possibility last time since one of DHs grandpa's Hebrew name was Zev. I brought it up again and DH wasn't super excited.

What about Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot names (other than Hadassah?)

Eliam is great for William, and not too close to Ilan. That extra syllable makes it different enough.

You see a lot of "Chagit" (for girls) for sukkot. Another is Hadar, especially for Sukkot and Tu B'shvat, but it's a really common name (for both genders).

Another to consider for Hermina is Hallel.

The strong M might be something to focus on (I'm assuming the name is pronounced Her-ME-na) and go with something like Michal?

Margalit is another pretty M name.

Menachem might work ok for a boy.

Though I get the feeling that you want to avoid the "ch" sounds...did I get that right?

Simcha is a beautiful name that works well for both boys and girls.

Zev is for William because of Wolf, a common Yiddish version of Zev.

Gili and Tal are used for both genders, much more popular for girls, you probably shouldn't use it for a boy at this point. Gil can still be used for a boy. How about Hila, for a girl (accent on second syllable, HiLAH)

I know several people named "Mina", doesn't have any particular meaning, but it's used comfortably.

In addition to previous suggestions for holidays (esp Hadar and Hallel, lots of those around, mainly girls), there's Hagai for boys, and we have a cousin named Hoshea who was born on Hoshanna Rabba.

If Liam and Eliam sounds too close to Ilan for you, how about inverting it to Amiel?

I looked up the meaning of William and it's about protection, which happens to be the theme of Succot, that Hashem is our protector. That could lead to Tzuriel and Elitzur, maybe, or Betzalel. Or even Roi, although it's impossible to pronounce (Roh-EE). As in Hashem Roi lo Echsar, from the 23rd Psalm.

For Rosh Hashana, there's Elimelech.

yom kippur name - yonah used for boys and girls also yonit.

don't we read the story of chana and shmuel on rosh hashsana and the akeida? avraham, yitzchak, chana, shmuel. themes hashem remembering us - Pikudiel. Hashem's grace/ chessed - Chasdaya, Chasdiel

Rav Mordechai Eliyahu z"l andhis son Rav Shmuel Eliyahu routinely change girls' names from Hallel to something else b/c it is masculine. But there is Hillel or Hallel for a boy and Tehilla for a girl. I like Hillel alot for William actually.

Masculine as in masculine noun? As opposed to Tamar, Yael, and Tal?

How people perceive names is not subject to reason. It is what it is.

I know about a dozen girls named Hallel at this point (all from nice frum families), and nobody is changing their name.

I agree that Hillel goes very nicely for William, now that you mention it. Good name all around, too.

BTW, in Israel, Hadassa is for grandmothers, this generation, they use "Hadas".

(I hear your dh about naming after an organization, I don't get how anyone can use the name Amit, but it's quite popular)

I love some of these suggestions, thank you

it's not so much that I want to avoid the chet, more like we already have one.

The "H" in Hadas(sa) and Hadar are barely pronounced, more like 'Adas and 'Adar, to the extent that people sometimes ask, "Hadar" with a "heh" or "Adar" with an "aleph"?

Not at all like "Ch" in "Chaya".

"Hermi" sounds like "Yermi" which is a nickname for Yermiyahu. I have a son named Yermiyahu, we call him "Rami". Except his sister, who calls him "Jeremiah! bull frog!!" to really get his attention.

There are several boy names based on the Ram root (meaning to raise): Yoram, Ram, Avraham, Amram. Can't think of any girl names.

Another for Hermina is Ne'ima, a version of Na'ama. Or Noam for a boy. Or Noam for a girl, too, these days. They're all the same thing, along with Noa (girl only).

Names in Israel cross gender lines all the time, though usually boy names are used for girls-- though I do know of a guy named Ma'ayan (his parents were American, and if they had a clue presumably they would have named him something else). I haven't heard of names fall out of use for boys because people started using them for girls. Israelis have a really high tolerance for non-gender-specific names. (Which is why my dh has a boy cousin named Chen, born a good ten years after it was used commonly for either gender. Hey, that might also be a good name for Hermina-- it means Grace, though).

ma'ayan is a boy's name. ayana is the girls' name.

My new Israeli niece is a Ma'ayan, and I know at least one girl in chu'l who is named Ma'ayan, too.

My younger son is Noam Elimelech - he was born between Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur. The Elimelech is definitely appropriate for that time of year (though it also helps that my kids are 10th generation decendants of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizensk, who was also known as the "Noam Elimelech" for the sefer he wrote. )

Ma'ayan is popular for girls I know in the US. I had no clue it was a boy's name in Israel (I know girl Ma'ayans who live in Israel too).