Where do Yiddish names come from?

amother

Clear

Today at 7:10 am

You can definitely research the names. My uncle had a daughter he wanted to name itta. Apparently it's the Yiddish version of Henrietta which means queenly like henry means kingly so he added malka to her name. There is nothing wrong with using a name with non Jewish origins as long as it's not non Jewish religious origins. My husband won't use Yiddish names because in our circles no one speak Yiddish at all.

amother

Linen ↓

Today at 8:00 am

Ema of 5 wrote:

Batya is a biblical name….where it comes from is clear, at least in the Chumash.

To the best of my knowledge, the name Batya/Bitya/Basya is not in the Chumash. Its not a "Biblical name."
The person herself- "Bas Pharaoh" - is in the chumash, but she is called Bas Pharaoh.
The medresh tell us her name.

And as an aside, I went to Bais Yaakov Monsey. The Rebbetzin a"h was known to be a major gramarian. (Iykyk). She taught that the proper pronunciation is Bitya (mapik in the Taf). This is not a matter of accent or havarah. It's a matter of dikduk.

Eta. After googling this, I am coming back to correct this. While it is true that the Bas Pharaoh is not named in the Chumash, there is a "Bisya" mentioned in Divrei Hayamim. She is the mother of several people. The medresh identifies this woman ("Bisya") as the very same daughter of Pharaoh from Shemos, who saved Moshe from the river, and says that all of those names that are her sons in DH refer to Moshe.

Also, in DH, the name is spelled Bisya without a mapik in the saf, with a chirik under the bais.
I assume the popular pronunciation of Basya/Batya comes from the idea that Bisya is a contraction of the words "Bas Ka" daughter of Hashem.

amother

Glitter ↓

Today at 8:16 am

amother Whitesmoke wrote:

Actually, her name in the Chumash is Bisya.

I think Yiddish names are becoming less and less common, at least in non chassidish circles. Why would someone name their daughter Freidy if they can call her Aliza? Why name someone Gittel if she can be Tova? Why choose Raizel when you can choose Shoshana? Why burden your child with a name like Recha when you can choose Rochel?

No offense to anyone here but imo Hebrew names are so much nicer and more authentically Jewish.

This is a very ahistorical view. Jews have been using names that are specifically from Jewish languages (Yiddish, Latino, Judeo Arabic, etc etc) for centuries and centuries. To claim a Yiddish name that has been used for centuries by Jews is not “authentically Jewish” but the modern Hebracized version that has only been popular for a few decades is more authentic and better just ignores a very long history of how Jews have chosen and created names.

Im not at all Chassidish but we have many Yiddish names among our family because thats the culture and legacy of our family. I dont feel the need to update these names to a contemporary Hebrew replacement. I dont judge anyone who chooses exclusively tanachi or contemporary Hebrew names or whatever, but don't disparage people who choose Jewish names from deep family traditions.

amother

↑ Linen ↓

Today at 8:22 am

zaq wrote:

Some and some. Charna is Russian for black, Beila is ditto for white. Kreinda or Kreindl means a crown. Bluma is a flower, but Blima with a yud, not a vav, is poetic for "nothingness" as in "תולה ארץ על בלימה". (That is clearly not the meaning of the name Blima, for who would name a person "nothingness"? No, it's just the Chassidish/Hungarian/Galitzianer pronunciation of Bluma.)

OTOH Basha and Pesha are corruptions of Batya, Hencha and Chinka are corruptions of Chana...Todres is Theodorus, a Greek name with the same meaning as Matanya. (Gift of G-d) So why use Todres? Good question! And why is Shprintze, a corruption of Esperanza,meaning hope, acceptable while Tikva is not?

Don't get me started.

There is an Encyclopedia of Ashkenazic Names that can tell you the source of most names including many you never heard of because they died out centuries ago.

This is because innovation died out in the shtetels of Europe. Meaning, new things were allowed up until about 200 years ago, and then things froze. After that, it became all about "mesora. " Throughout history, parents have named their children using their own feelings and ingenuity. But these days we are considered too weak or low to make up names, and we aren't supposed to mess with the holy names of the past. This is what has been explained to me. (Although I don't get why Raizel is more holy than Shoshana, or Faigel is more holy that Tzipora.)

This is also the reason why in many chassidish groups, they wear the same style clothing that was worn by their ancestors in Europe. It doesn't go back more than 100-200 years. That was the point at which things froze. And after that, any change made goes against the mesora.

amother

Dimgray

Today at 8:31 am

imaima wrote:

With all due respect it is not up to you to decide if something is more authentically Jewish than the names that were a part of the Jewish culture for centuries.
Why would anyone name these names? Because they like the sound better. They name after beloved relatives. Freidy is nice in a different way than Aliza is.

There are halachik opinions that names that are in tanach are superior.
I happen to hold this and won’t name a Yiddish name or a Hebrew name that isn’t in tanach.( like Shira)
It isn’t her opinion it is a real shita

↑ Ruchel ↓

Today at 8:36 am

amother Linen wrote:

It is also when it died out in the Sephardic world.

Why? Because it came to a stop. If the war didn't happen maybe it would go on.

Raizel isn't more holy it's just as holy because it gained holiness by use and ancestors. How many times I've been told ladino or Judeo Arabic is [gentile].......

↑ Ema of 5

Today at 8:45 am

amother Dimgray wrote:

It is ONE shita. It’s ok to say this is our shita, it’s not ok to say that Yiddish names are a burden.

amother

Obsidian

Today at 8:59 am

amother Whitesmoke wrote:

Oy vey.
In the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s it was common for people to “modernize” the “old, outdated” Yiddish names and change them to “modern” Hebrew. So the Blumas became Vered and the Zlatas became Zahava etc. Which is exactly what the Yiddish names did when they became names.
And who says someone is burdened by the name Recha?
And authentically Jewish? Says who? How is Aliza a Jewish name? It’s a Hebrew word. Is esther a Jewish name? Not originally. It’s from the Persian Ishtar. Esther HaMalka had a Hebrew name, Hadassah.
Names are complicated and you can’t just go and switch them. Sefardim and Ashkenazim both use the name of ancestors in whatever language to show honor and respect. You use the same name, especially when naming after living family members.
In my circles, Yiddish names are way more common than Hebrew names.

amother

↑ Linen ↓

Today at 9:13 am

amother Dimgray wrote:

It is known that rav Chaim ztl was against these modern Hebrew names, such as Shira.
There is a section in shulchan aruch that lists proper Jewish names and their spellings.

amother

Blushpink

Today at 9:18 am

mommy3b2c wrote:

Yitta was originally Yehudis . Same with yittel. Pessa, Pesya, pessel originate from basya . I actually am fascinated by this topic. Chanca, hencha, chancha were all once Chana.

I'm named Yittel and never knew this, thank you so much for this information! I always wanted to know it's meaning but never managed to find out. Do you have a source for this?
I'm told it's an old yiddish name, and that the rema's wife or mother, I can't remember, was called Yitta.

amother

↑ Linen ↓

Today at 9:22 am

amother NeonGreen wrote:

It comes from being passed down mostly but didn’t start out as Jewish names usually. Same goes for Spanish Jewish names like the sfardim have like Grace, Margalit etc. Basically it becomes “Jewish” from the fact that Jews use it.

I wouldn’t give a Yiddish name because I like names with a biblical source. Or at least Hebrew. If I had a grandmother Raizel, I would name Shoshana. There’s usually a Hebrew version.

I agree with this.
My husband and I do not like yiddish names, although we have plenty in the family. We only gave biblical names. If I had to name after my grandmother Faiga, I would name the child Tzipora, which is a Torah name.

Someone I know had a grandmother named Edel. They consulted with their very choshuv yeshivish rav regarding the name (they were unsure if the name was Ettel or Aidel), and he answered "the name is Aidel, and you can name her Adina."
Adina has a source in Torah whereas Aidel does not.

amother

Oak

Today at 9:23 am

amother Cerise wrote:

There is sefer that says where certain names originated from. I for one always thought the name Bashy came from Russian but it comes from Bas Sheva and Basya apparently does too.

I tried to google it and found this link. You'll be surprised to see the mekoros for some names.

https://www.sefaria.org/Beit_S.....ng=bi

Interesting it doesn’t have my name, Shayna, I wonder what it’s from

amother

↑ Sapphire

Today at 9:34 am

amother Linen wrote:

What's the source in Torah for Adina??

amother

↑ Linen ↓

Today at 9:41 am

amother Whitesmoke wrote:

Actually, there is no Bisya in the chumash. (See my comment above.)

Also, there is a difference between your first three examples (Freidy/Aliza , Gittel/Tova and shoshana/Raizel) and the last one. The last one (Rachel) is a Torah name, whereas the others are not.

What makes Aliza a better name than Freida? They are both made up names, just in different languages. When I say "made up", I mean that somewhere in history, someone made up the name. It wasn't from the Torah.

People who believe in naming their children after grandparents are not making it up, and they feel that is preferable to name the authentic name of the grandparent. So in terms of "authentically jewish" it depends how you define that.
On the other hand, to go from Recha to Rachel is simply reverting to the original Torah name.

amother

Tangerine ↓

Today at 9:54 am

News to me that Yiddish names are becoming less popular, at least with girls.
Both my girls in a regular Bais Yaakov have classmates with Yiddish names. Why do they chose Fraidy when they could do Aliza…
Well if my mother was Fraidy I wouldn’t count it if an Aliza was named after her… the name is Fraidy not Aliza. Different name.
One of my kids has three names- two are Hebrew and one is Yiddish. She goes by the Yiddish name.

One of my daughters class list I’m looking at - again mainstream Bais Yaakov - has a Ita, Gittel, Mindel, Ettel, Zeesy….