Naming after someone not frum - HELP

there is nice name on my family side - most family was not frum - but this lady we were close to and was a nice lady - was not frum - not sure if married jewish acc to halacha and stuff like that - The name is nice but was wondering what you heard on this issue - of course will ask my rav but was wondering if ppl heard about not naming after someone not religious - also not even 100% sure of exact jewish name _ we just remember what we think she said her name was - this is not a parent a grandparents cousin in fact
Thanks

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 12 2009 Posts: 13155

Ask your rav. From what I've heard the conventional wisdom is to add a name. You can still use the other name.
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The righteous praise and honor people for every good quality that is found in them while the wicked seek out faults in others to pull them down, even if they repented those deeds. (Rabbeinu Yonah, from Partners in Kindness)

OP - Im planning on asking anyway but if you add a name 3 names becomes much and does it still go after that persons memory if it is different

Gold Member Joined: Apr 27 2010 Posts: 1971

I've heard to add or take away a name so its not the same name. if she had two names, you can either add a third name, take away one of the names, or change one name.
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"I'd agree with you, but then we would both be wrong".

We were told to have kavana on also the relative, also another person with the name. In our case the name is Rivka, so dh thought Rivka Emanu also.

Anon b/c I don't want to hurt my non frum family if they see this, and this board is visible to non members.

Executive Member Joined: Jul 26 2010 Posts: 270

Please pardon my ignorance but I have never heard of any restrictions regarding naming after non-observant relatives. What's the source for that, if I may ask?

My mom is a BT and we are the only frum members of my entire family (other than my DH and kids). If there is a halachic basis then I don't have that many options when it comes to naming my children!

There is an excellent book called Your Name is Your Blessing. I bought it because it gives you the deeper meaning/gematria of names. It's also scarily accurate. I have read people the meaning of their names according to that book and they've been really astonished at how true their descriptions were.

What I did with an English name was to write it out in Hebrew. Then take the gematria of that. Look up the number in the back of the book and it gives you a few options for numerical equivalents. My grandfather's name was Isadore which ended up being = to Boruch.

Ditto Yesha.

Ask YOUR rav, OP.

Mine holds you don't need to add anything, and you can certainly name after several people, and if anything, someone non frum benefits even more from renaming.
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"You will have many many children and make successful shidduchim beh", rebbetzin Esther Jungreis
"It's all cultural, disagree respectfully", me

you call her "not frum and yet a nice person" - this makes me think that she didn't keep mitzvos bein adam lemakom, probably out of ignorance, but seemingly kept bein adam lechaveiro unfailingly.

We so often forget that there were 2 parts to the luchos. According to sefer hatanya, the bein adam lechaveiro is the more important of the two.
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Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional. (I haven't finished growing up yet; I'm still a work in progress - until 120!)

Gold Member Joined: May 27 2010 Posts: 2142

Pesach Krohn said in a shiur you name after a tzadik who has the same name and have the tzadik/tzadekes in mind.. Ie... my grandfather was shmuel, have a godol whose name was also Shmuel in mind...

Gold Member Joined: Apr 27 2010 Posts: 1971

different people hold differently with regard to this. you need to ask your rov or follow your minhag.

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 12 2009 Posts: 13155

I'm going to say what I've said a number of times on this forum already--

I don't really understand your question. Being non-shomer torah umitzvos does not equate with being a rashah. I, as well as my siblings, are named for non-frum relatives. We have Hebrew names and were named for very good people who had many good middos.
You can consider it doing a perfect gilgul/cycle, etc. whatever you want to call it--in the sense that your child who are raising to be an ehrlicher frum yid to provide the true kind of nachas for her namesake. How wonderful! And if the person was a good person with strong values and good character, those are the most important things you can ask for.
That's how I feel. I would not hesitate for a second to name one of my children after my grandparents who I love with all of my heart--but are/were not fully shomer torah umitzvos.
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"You can say this for ready-mixes - the next generation isn't going to have any trouble making pies exactly like mother used to make." ~Earl Wilson

Gold Member Joined: Apr 27 2010 Posts: 1971

I think a few decades ago, no one had this "no naming after someone normal but not XYZ" meshigas.