Can I name my Jewish daughter Mary?

[Anonymous]

Mary is the anglicized version of Miriam, no? Do you not like Miriam?

[Anonymous]

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

Mary was a Jew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mary is the anglicized version of Miriam, no? Do you not like Miriam?

OP here: we prefer Mary to all other variants however w Miriam it’s especially problematic because it’s my BEST friend’s name and I couldn’t name d that without having it be assumed to be “after” her which is whole other naming dilema.

[Anonymous]

What about Miriam?

Adorable name and you could still use the nn Mair.

[Anonymous]

Love the name mary. I wanted to name our daughter this but my husband wouldn't go for it because we're not Christian and he thought Mary was just too definitively a Christian name. I got him to go with Marie instead, though, and love that too.

[Anonymous]

No you can’t. And Mair is not cute. It’s a horse. God forbid you call her that and she’s fat? Imagine the teasing.

[Anonymous]

You have too many good reasons not to use it, OP.

[Anonymous]

OP, you can obviously do what you want.

Non-Jews won't even notice, but a lot of Jews will think it's weird (like this one writing this post). Other Jews won't notice, either.

I think some of us Jews find using generally religious Christian names to feel a little too much like what happens in times and places when Jews are trying a little too hard to pass as Christian, or when it has been dangerous to be easily identified as Jewish. Obviously, that's not the case now, but that, and a history of Jewish persecution by Christians is why people don't see them as "just" a name. Not to mention that plenty of Christians choose "Mary" because it's religious, not just cultural.

Obviously, those situations are not the case right now, but that's behind the weirdness.

[Anonymous]

It’s fine, imo. And I really like the name, fwiw — classic, easy to spell & pronounce, works for any age, not overly popular among girls born within the past couple of generations but not dated like a lot of common baby boomer names (Linda, for instance).

[Anonymous]

Only people who are shallow and judgmental, regardless of their religion, would be critical of this name or any name. I think this world could use a lot less judging and a lot more openness.

[Anonymous]

I love the name. Yes, I think people will generally presume she’s Catholic. But I don’t think that should stop you from using the name unless the thought of that happening offends you.

[Anonymous]

I consider it an Abrahamic name, not a Catholic name (like Maria, Mariam, etc). Variants used in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Mary was a Jew.

No. Miriam was a Jew.The specific Anglicized version of that name has fully been co-opted by Catholics.

Just as Jesus wasn't actually called Jesus. That version of his Amamaic name is distinctly Christian.

[Anonymous]

I know Jews named Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, Peter, and Andrew. I didn’t assume they were Catholic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic here...our Mary was a Jew. I don't think it's weird at all.

our? really?

Seriously. She doesn't belong to Catholics.