Adina/Dina | Imamother

Miri1

Thu, Sep 12 2024, 4:27 pm

From a practical point of view, I think calling sisters by these names can create all sorts of frustration and confusion.
When they get a phone call and the wrong girl comes to the phone, if there's a older family member who can't hear so well, just generally around the house...
Yes, they're completely different names, but phonetically and spelling-wise they are very similar.

amother

Aster ↓

Thu, Sep 12 2024, 4:28 pm

I know 2 Adina Aidels!

We actually asked about naming 2 siblings the SAME name and it is halachically permitted! (If you’re curious why we asked this question- my husband has a son from a previous marriage. After we got married we had a boy and I wanted to name him after my grandfather whose name was the same name as my husband’s son.)
Even though my grandfather had 2 names, we didn’t use the name that the other child had and just named our son the second name, but it is allowed.

It’s very confusing to have 2 children living in the same house with (almost) the same name.

Name your daughter the name but add another name to use. You’ll see how things turn out as they grow up.

And don’t feel bad that you named your other daughter nechama Dina. You had ruach hakodesh when you named her and this name is perfect for her.

amother

Banana

Thu, Sep 12 2024, 9:22 pm

meirah1 wrote:

please ask your LOR its basically the same name....
also I agree its kind of odd for 2 sisters to have almost the same name

It's not the same name at all. It's two different shorashim. One means judgment, one means gentle/pleasant. And why would giving kids names that are similar be a halachik question? Genuinely curious.

amother

Oak ↓

Thu, Sep 12 2024, 9:27 pm

If you plan on calling her by two names, Adina should be the first and the second name should be short and blend well. Like Adina Rus.

Purely from a phonological perspective (because that's the issue, the names aren't the same meaning at all.) Try it out and you'll see. When you use a double name like this, it doesn't sound similar. When you're yelling across the house, pick up the phone you would hear "adiNARUS pick up the phone!" Which sounds very different then "DEEna!"

rachelbg

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 12:28 am

How old is Dena?
Ie: if it’s a huge age gap I think there’s less of an issue. Overlap in context of hearing her name will be much less than sisters within a 3 year gap, so to speak.

imaima

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 1:02 am

amother OP wrote:

Is that name still given nowadays?
If I name her Adina Aidel and call her aidel, then she won’t ever have a choice to use the more modern name if she hates the Yiddish, because of her sister…
Otherwise I do like the name

First of all Aidel is a gorgeous name, why would anyone opt out?
Secondly, when she is the age to choose what name she goes by, she will probably be more autonomous and separate from her siblings. It can be her name for school/ workplace etc

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 5:52 am

amother Aster wrote:

Wow so interesting. Yes I wouldn’t have thought it’s a halachic problem, wasn’t planning on asking a Rav.
I appreciate the chizuk! Can’t help feeling bad that I named her her name but obviously it was meant to be.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 5:52 am

Kiwi13 wrote:

Maybe use a nickname like Deedee, maybe based off first and middle names?

We don’t love the idea of nicknames but thank you for the suggestion

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 5:54 am

amother Oak wrote:

Yes I completely agree. I’m leaning towards this. Thanks

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 5:54 am

rachelbg wrote:

How old is Dena?
Ie: if it’s a huge age gap I think there’s less of an issue. Overlap in context of hearing her name will be much less than sisters within a 3 year gap, so to speak.

Thanks, it’s a 7 year age gap

amother

↑ OP

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 6:00 am

imaima wrote:

Honestly I think it’s beautiful name. However I’m in Israel (I did another thread on this) and there’s not a clear consensus of how her name will be pronounced in school. She may end up being called Adele or Edel (Israelis don’t really say the sound Ay) and that is a totally different name to Aidel and I don’t want it. We have an MK called Edelstein and everyone pronounces it like that and not Aidelstein. I also feel bad to name her a name that will always make her stand out as chutznik, that Israelis find it hard to pronounce!

kenz

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 9:12 am

Adina means pretty, I would use a different name with the same meaning. (Yaffa, etc.) I would not give Adina when I already had Dina, even with a second name. It’s just too similar sounding, even if it does have a different shoresh and meaning. I think it’s very nice that you want to name after your relative but this happens all the time in other ways, the most common being when a grandparent on the other side shares the name you want to give and most of the time, it’s just not given for that reason. I don’t think the confusion that may result for your daughter(s) is worth it, even if you are trying your best to avoid any issues that may come up. You don’t know what will happen in school, etc.

amother

↑ Oak

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 10:35 am

Ruchel wrote:

What about Firstname Adina?
I really love Aydel for obvious reasons lol though.

Don't do this. The way two names work is the second name gets emphasized. So Firstname Adina will sound even more like Dina then Adina plain.

Play with the sounds by saying the name in different ways, fast, slow loud and you'll understand.

amother

Aqua

Fri, Sep 13 2024, 10:46 am

Ruchel wrote:

What about Firstname Adina?
I really love Aydel for obvious reasons lol though.

I like this a lot. If you end the first name with a vowel, you will still emphasize the A at the beginning

Tova Adina, Elliana Adina, Shoshana Adina etc