One two three four...

Seraph

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 3:34 am

How many names do you think a kid should have? How many names do your kids have?
Do you call them by all those names (if its more than one) or do you just use one of the names?

In my opinion, two names is good. More than that is just a little much. One name is boring, in my opinion.

Atali

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 3:49 am

I think either one or two is good, three or more is too much. My husband has four names and that makes it a bit difficult for anyone to remember. DS#1 has two names, and DS#2 only has one name (both were named after tzaddikim)

Marion

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 3:50 am

Our son has a first and a middle name. We use both, most of the time. My SILs all have at least 3 names; the oldest has 4 (my ILs were so excited to have a girl after 3 boys that they gave her all their girl names, just in case she was it!).

I guess I'm partial to 2 names, although I would prefer to only use the first name. Somehow I feel the name is "incomplete" without something in the middle though.

binah918

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 4:33 am

In pratice I guess I like 2 names, but I also like the idea of giving an entire pasuk as a name...but we'd never do it.

Seraph

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 4:39 am

binah918 wrote:

In pratice I guess I like 2 names, but I also like the idea of giving an entire pasuk as a name...but we'd never do it.

Speaking of that, I know someone who is named Kahatia- rashei teivos of "Kol haneshama tihalel kah, halelukah"

Seraph

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 4:48 am

binah918 wrote:

Yep, like the name Nili. What does is stand for again, Netzach yisroel lo ipol???

Yishaker.

hila

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 4:55 am

OTOH you can ususally find a psuk or saying that goes with teh name.
I remember someone having a girl on Yom Haatsmaut and calling her Yael , and teh Rav says "Yom Atsamaut Leyisrael" as he said Mazal tov to the father.
It had not occurred to the father - they had chosen the name for other reasons

happyone

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 5:08 am

I generally like one name, as I find people end up using only one. I don't like giving a name that ends up being dropped.

Seraph

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 5:15 am

I think if someone has two names, the second should at least be used occasionally.
I never use my second name, because it doesnt really flow with my first name...
But if a name flows, why not use both sometimes, even if not all the time?

Btw, when I reveal my second name, people are like "What? You have a second name?"

zigi

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 6:13 am

I have 3 names my kids have 2 names my dh 1 name.
my dh calls my 2 of my kids by their second name and I call them by their first name, my dd we both call her by her second name.

greenfire

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 6:41 am

my friends son has 4 names because she wanted to name after father and her dh wanted to name after a rebbe ... so he is called the 2 middle names ... quite unique indeed ...

I used to call my kids by their complete names ... eventually they dropped off ... however my son is called dif names by dif people ... my side calls him middle name ... his dads side calls him first name ... and sometimes it's both or middle for me ... used to be dif nicknames also ... but he grew out of that ...

amother

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 7:15 am

My 2 girls have two names, but are only called by their first, my son only has one name as he was named after my dh's grandfather who only had one name and my dh wanted to use the exact name (which happens to be Aharon ha-Kohen, so it's pretty cool)

The baby I am expecting, G-d willing, a boy, will have three names, since I want to name after two of my great grandfathers both of whom passed away after I got married. One has only one name which I HATE and was not really frum (but I had a very close relationship with him and my dd is named after his wife), the other shares his first name with my fil, so I'd only use his middle name. We picked a third name that will go first to tie it all together and the baby will iy"h be called by that.

greenfire

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 9:39 am

chocolate moose wrote:

I never heard of a posuk as a name...what do you call the kid in the bathtub, then?

wet

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Jul 03 2007, 10:52 am

Personally, I like the way 2 names go together and form more of an identity than just one name.
I have 2 names, prefer my middle more, but the first is shorter, and that's what I go by.
My husband has two names, the name he goes by is a nickname for his middle name (which I happen to hate! My m-i-l hates his first name, and I like it. Go figure.)

That being said, both my sons have only one name. First is named after my grandfather who only had one name (he was named after his mother), second is named a name we picked 'al pi ruach hakodesh" and had no reason to add a second to it. Makes it hard to call them when they are in trouble, and both are not so nicknameable.