Alternative names to Chava?

Posted: Sat, Jul 16 2011, 2:18 pm Post subject: Alternative names to Chava?

My husband and I would like to name after a Chava but neither one of us are super crazy about the name. Any other ideas to use instead? Her English name is not something we would use either.

Thanks!
amother

Posted: Sat, Jul 16 2011, 2:39 pm Post subject: re: Alternative names to Chava?

Chava was Em Kol Chai so you can use Chaya, if you like that better.

Posted: Sat, Jul 16 2011, 2:46 pm Post subject: re: Alternative names to Chava?

Chavi?
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Eva. Eve. Chaviva.
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How do you name after a person without using their actual name? Once the name is changed or another name is added, it's not that person you wanted to name after anyhow. Why don't you name after someone else whose name you like?

Posted: Sat, Jul 16 2011, 6:03 pm Post subject: re: Alternative names to Chava?

There are rabbanim who rule a translation or equivalent is fine, or even a close form, or even three letters in common. It is a shaila.

I also see people naming after a quality of the person (something I personally do not get at all) or using the same starting letter, and I wonder if there is a source for these ones.
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Posted: Sat, Jul 16 2011, 6:05 pm Post subject: re: Alternative names to Chava?

DH always loved the name Chava! For years we wanted to use it. Finally we gave it as a middle name.
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Posted: Sat, Jul 16 2011, 10:12 pm Post subject: re: Alternative names to Chava?

We are considering naming in honor of a chava. She is nicknamed chaviva, so we are thinking of using the name ahuva, which is similar in meaning. Did your chava have any nicknames?

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Some people use Chava instead of Chaya so I assume you can use Chaya instead of Chava.

Posted: Sun, Jul 17 2011, 5:08 pm Post subject:

my daughter is called chava and chaya, name after my grandmother exactly and yes she is a lot like her in personality and I can see it even though she is only two years old. (one of her english names was eva)
I was also told that either its the correct name or there is no point naming after that person

Posted: Sun, Jul 17 2011, 7:33 pm Post subject: re: Alternative names to Chava?

I would like to name a daughter chava after my grandma who passed away right after my wedd but my mil is called chava as a second name and she never even use it.
I dont know what I would do when I'll have a daughter IYH.

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One of the meforshim on Bereishis asks: if Chava was called that because she was Aim Kol Chai, shouldn't she be called Chaya? And the answer is that there's a word in Aramaic that means snake, and that word has a vov in it, so she got the vov from the snake in her name because of the aveira of listening to the snake at the Etz Hada'as. The vov replaced the yud in Chaya - hence Chava. That's why I prefer Chaya to Chava and I feel the names are related.

BTW when my sister was born, parents wanted to name after a grandmother named Chasha but they do not like Yiddish names. My father made a list of all the girls' names in Tanach starting with Ches:
Chava, Chulda, Chodesh (see Divrei Hayamim), and Cheftzibah (Yeshaya's daughter).
My mother is not into unusual names, so they reduced the list to Chava and Chaya and settled on one of those, B"H.
However, I am in agreement with those who say if you want the name to have the complete affect on the neshama of the niftar, use the niftar's exact name - no changes.