Can I name my Jewish daughter Mary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meredith will give you the same nickname.

But then your name would be Meredith...not nearly as pretty as Mary.

Oh honey, you got the two names mixed up!

[Anonymous]

Mary is very English, like Moira or Edith. I think of Maria being very Catholic.
There are tons of variants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is weird culturally because of the Catholic focus with the Virgin Mary, but it is biblically Jewish. No one questions Mark or Paul with Jewish boys, and there are a ton of Jewish men with those names...very New Testament. It really is just cultural.
Now, Christine, Christina, Chrissy...that is a Christian name.

Not entirely true. Jews are "Saul," which was Paul's Jewish name. Jewish "Paul"s again, are largely named after older relatives who picked an assimilated Christian version of the traditional Jewish name.

"Mark," like "Julius," are/were popular Jewish names because they are Roman names.

-- mom to a "Julius Saul," named after an Orthdox great uncle (deceased) and a great-grandmother and great-grandfather, Paul and Pauline.

You are taking it away too far. St. Paul, St. Mark- My point is that these are Christan religious names and I can list 20 Jewish Marks and Pauls..while yo can list original sources, so can Mary...but it was culturally taken by Catholic culture.

You know lots of Jewish Pauls? I don't think I have ever met one and I don't think that is common. Mark is less unusual, but I still wouldn't say it is wildly popular.

Paul Rudd! (I haven't met him, though. )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is weird culturally because of the Catholic focus with the Virgin Mary, but it is biblically Jewish. No one questions Mark or Paul with Jewish boys, and there are a ton of Jewish men with those names...very New Testament. It really is just cultural.
Now, Christine, Christina, Chrissy...that is a Christian name.

Not entirely true. Jews are "Saul," which was Paul's Jewish name. Jewish "Paul"s again, are largely named after older relatives who picked an assimilated Christian version of the traditional Jewish name.

"Mark," like "Julius," are/were popular Jewish names because they are Roman names.

-- mom to a "Julius Saul," named after an Orthdox great uncle (deceased) and a great-grandmother and great-grandfather, Paul and Pauline.

You are taking it away too far. St. Paul, St. Mark- My point is that these are Christan religious names and I can list 20 Jewish Marks and Pauls..while yo can list original sources, so can Mary...but it was culturally taken by Catholic culture.

You know lots of Jewish Pauls? I don't think I have ever met one and I don't think that is common. Mark is less unusual, but I still wouldn't say it is wildly popular.

DP and I only know one, in his sixties. Agree it’s not common these days. But not shocking either on a Jewish boy. I would have us d it.

[Anonymous]

OP-if you like Mary, use it! 99% (at least) of people will never even think about it or say anything to your dd about it.

I'm a Christian who named dd a Hebrew name, Adah. My folks have a longtime family friend who is Jewish and he was delighted-he loves the name and tells her so. I guess it is an older name and you don't hear it much among Jewish parents anymore (so I've been told).

Do what you want OP.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is weird culturally because of the Catholic focus with the Virgin Mary, but it is biblically Jewish. No one questions Mark or Paul with Jewish boys, and there are a ton of Jewish men with those names...very New Testament. It really is just cultural.
Now, Christine, Christina, Chrissy...that is a Christian name.

Not entirely true. Jews are "Saul," which was Paul's Jewish name. Jewish "Paul"s again, are largely named after older relatives who picked an assimilated Christian version of the traditional Jewish name.

"Mark," like "Julius," are/were popular Jewish names because they are Roman names.

-- mom to a "Julius Saul," named after an Orthdox great uncle (deceased) and a great-grandmother and great-grandfather, Paul and Pauline.

You are taking it away too far. St. Paul, St. Mark- My point is that these are Christan religious names and I can list 20 Jewish Marks and Pauls..while yo can list original sources, so can Mary...but it was culturally taken by Catholic culture.

You know lots of Jewish Pauls? I don't think I have ever met one and I don't think that is common. Mark is less unusual, but I still wouldn't say it is wildly popular.

DP and I only know one, in his sixties. Agree it’s not common these days. But not shocking either on a Jewish boy. I would have us d it.

My great uncle was Paul and he was Jewish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IT's a Catholic name. I would think it weird and I'm not even Jewish.

Mary was a Jew.

Duh. But all Catholic parents have to select a "Christian name" for the christening. It must be after a Saint or otherwise approved Catholic name. Ergo lots of Marys. Jews have many lovely names to select from. Why pick one that screams "Christian name"?

Uh, no, you don’t have to select an approved “Christian name” for baptism. Which is what Catholics call it, not christening.

Read and learn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_name

Even the article you cite says

Various Fathers and spiritual writers and synodal decrees have exhorted Christians to give no names to their children in baptism but those of canonized saints or of the angels of God, but at no point in the history of the Church were these injunctions strictly attended to.[2]

My family is more Catholic than the Pope. I know everyone’s name at baptism and their confirmation name because I am the family historian. Even in the “Greatest Generation” cohort, less than 20% had a saint’s name or other religious connotation and every single one of those individuals is actually named after an older family member.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meredith will give you the same nickname.

But then your name would be Meredith...not nearly as pretty as Mary.

Oh honey, you got the two names mixed up!

NO I did not. The -dith part is just ugly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is weird culturally because of the Catholic focus with the Virgin Mary, but it is biblically Jewish. No one questions Mark or Paul with Jewish boys, and there are a ton of Jewish men with those names...very New Testament. It really is just cultural.
Now, Christine, Christina, Chrissy...that is a Christian name.

Not entirely true. Jews are "Saul," which was Paul's Jewish name. Jewish "Paul"s again, are largely named after older relatives who picked an assimilated Christian version of the traditional Jewish name.

"Mark," like "Julius," are/were popular Jewish names because they are Roman names.

-- mom to a "Julius Saul," named after an Orthdox great uncle (deceased) and a great-grandmother and great-grandfather, Paul and Pauline.

You are taking it away too far. St. Paul, St. Mark- My point is that these are Christan religious names and I can list 20 Jewish Marks and Pauls..while yo can list original sources, so can Mary...but it was culturally taken by Catholic culture.

You know lots of Jewish Pauls? I don't think I have ever met one and I don't think that is common. Mark is less unusual, but I still wouldn't say it is wildly popular.

DP and I only know one, in his sixties. Agree it’s not common these days. But not shocking either on a Jewish boy. I would have us d it.

The name Paul has fallen out of favor generally. I’m a teacher. I see very few Pauls period. Sometimes as a middle name. The Jewish boys that I’ve taught in the last decade had generic US popular names (Ethan, Aiden, Cory) or Israeli modern Hebrew ones. Adi was very popular. 1/3 of the Jewish girls were named Maya.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The name Paul has fallen out of favor generally. I’m a teacher. I see very few Pauls period. Sometimes as a middle name. The Jewish boys that I’ve taught in the last decade had generic US popular names (Ethan, Aiden, Cory) or Israeli modern Hebrew ones. Adi was very popular. 1/3 of the Jewish girls were named Maya.

It was #225 last year. Lukas, Aidan, Jax, Caden, Milo, Paul, Beckett, Brady, Colin, Omar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The name Paul has fallen out of favor generally. I’m a teacher. I see very few Pauls period. Sometimes as a middle name. The Jewish boys that I’ve taught in the last decade had generic US popular names (Ethan, Aiden, Cory) or Israeli modern Hebrew ones. Adi was very popular. 1/3 of the Jewish girls were named Maya.

It was #225 last year. Lukas, Aidan, Jax, Caden, Milo, Paul, Beckett, Brady, Colin, Omar.

I know a gazillion small Lucases but spelled with a c. None Jewish though. Lucas, like Luke, is a very Christian sounding name to Jews.

[Anonymous]

Spell it differently Mari or Merry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spell it differently Mari or Merry.

Those are pronounced differently from Mary. Or, more specifically, I (from the Midwest) pronounce Mari differently from Mary, but Merry the same as Mary. My friend from Long Island pronounces them both differently from Mary.

[Anonymous]

Are you self hating?