A Jew named Mary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't like Miriam, what about Meredith?

I grew up with a Jewish friend named something like Christopher Cohen. People talked about how weird it was behind his back all the time.

We hadn't considered Meredith, but I do love it. It's very pretty. Thank you for the suggestion.

That is a concern of mine and part of why we have avoided using Mary so far. I'm sure that we would receive some negative feedback from family and friends. I'm somewhat sensitive to criticism (unfortunately). DH is the opposite of me in that aspect.

NP. I support the name Meredith wholeheartedly! Great name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has to be a troll. You want to have a Malkah, Tovah and a Mary?

In case you are not joking, just pick another M name - Mira, Maya, Miri, Merrill, Mayra, Matea.

Malkah and Tovah are names of deceased family members (although we did add the h's). Mary is just a name that we like. We don't mind the names not "matching" each other.

Thank you for the suggestions. I like Maya, Merrill, and Mat(t)ea.

YOU don't care about the names "matching" but this upcoming baby might. The older sisters may use the name as "proof" that she's adopted if they want to tease her. You won't have to walk through life named Mary, she will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you made the right choice the last 3 times. Stick to it. There will be people (both other Jews and non-Jews) that will try to discredit her Jewishness based solely on her first name. Names matter.

LOL "discredit her Jewishness"

No "Jew" names a kid Mary.

She's not a Jew he or she is a troll.

I knew someone would say this at some point. I even contemplated adding a disclaimer to my post. I'm not a troll. This post is serious, and I appreciate all of the serious replies that I have received. Thanks.

How did you end up naming your daughters Malkah and Tovah?

The OP said in a previous comment that they’re names of family members that have passed away with hs added onto the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've always liked the name Mary, but we're very much a Jewish family. It's not a common name among (even secular) Jews for an obvious reason. I guess I'm just wondering how odd it would be. Our last name is identifiably Jewish, so that is my main concern. I just don't want her full name to sound like a bad stand-up comedy joke to others. I know that Miriam is an option, but I don't like it as much. We already have daughters named Naomi, Malkah, and Tovah. We considered Mary for each of our other daughters but ended up not going with it every time.

I know a Jewish woman named Maria so why not Mary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised to meet a Jewish Mary but for me that’s not that big a deal until I hear your other children’s names. Paired with those, it is a very big deal imho.

Why? Jesus was a Jew and so was his mother. yall are weird.

Jesus’ mother was given her name before the existence and spread of Christianity (obviously). Mary is now heavily associated with Christianity. Jewish people mainly use the Hebrew form of the name - Miriam. There is a lot of overlap between the two religions but also a lot of differences.

I like the name as a Catholic, but I can see why most Jewish parents avoid it. It’s pretty bizarre to use a name that is associated with another religious group. I would never name my son Muhammad (Muslim) or Nephi (Mormon) for the same reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised to meet a Jewish Mary but for me that’s not that big a deal until I hear your other children’s names. Paired with those, it is a very big deal imho.

Why? Jesus was a Jew and so was his mother. yall are weird.

Jesus’ mother was given her name before the existence and spread of Christianity (obviously). Mary is now heavily associated with Christianity. Jewish people mainly use the Hebrew form of the name - Miriam. There is a lot of overlap between the two religions but also a lot of differences.

I like the name as a Catholic, but I can see why most Jewish parents avoid it. It’s pretty bizarre to use a name that is associated with another religious group. I would never name my son Muhammad (Muslim) or Nephi (Mormon) for the same reason.

This is a bit of a stretch. Muhammad is exclusive to Islam and Nephi is exclusive to Mormonism. Mary is not exclusive to Christianity. It is widely used by people of all faiths. There are even hardcore atheists that have daughters named Mary! Until atheists start naming their kids Muhammad and Nephi, I don’t think you can accurately compare the two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised to meet a Jewish Mary but for me that’s not that big a deal until I hear your other children’s names. Paired with those, it is a very big deal imho.

Why? Jesus was a Jew and so was his mother. yall are weird.

Jesus and his mother were Jews, but they weren’t and aren’t significant figures in Judaism. OP is the weirdo for even considering saddling her daughter with this name. She should know better. Her child will be the one that suffers because of her sheer ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has to be a troll. You want to have a Malkah, Tovah and a Mary?

In case you are not joking, just pick another M name - Mira, Maya, Miri, Merrill, Mayra, Matea.

Malkah and Tovah are names of deceased family members (although we did add the h's). Mary is just a name that we like. We don't mind the names not "matching" each other.

Thank you for the suggestions. I like Maya, Merrill, and Mat(t)ea.

How about Mayim?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you made the right choice the last 3 times. Stick to it. There will be people (both other Jews and non-Jews) that will try to discredit her Jewishness based solely on her first name. Names matter.

LOL "discredit her Jewishness"

No "Jew" names a kid Mary.

She's not a Jew he or she is a troll.

Ironically, you just unintentionally proved my point by trying to discredit OP’s Jewishness due to her taste in names. 😂 Good job! 👏🏻

I hope that we will one day move past this backward mindset that names and preferences in names are always indicative of someone’s religion, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc. We’re too advanced for this nonsense.

[Anonymous]

My great grandmother was Mary. She was orthodox. Her full name was Mariam. You could go with Mariam and call her Mary for short but spell it Mari. Or just spell it Mary.

[Anonymous]

Here's an unpopular opinion. Naomi and Mary go together (in that they are similar in style and popularity). Malkah and Tovah go together. Your daughter will probably not feel left out or othered if you name her Mary. As much as we hate to think about it, our kids are separate individuals who will go on to live their own lives.

[Anonymous]

One vote for Mara or Maren

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you made the right choice the last 3 times. Stick to it. There will be people (both other Jews and non-Jews) that will try to discredit her Jewishness based solely on her first name. Names matter.

LOL "discredit her Jewishness"

No "Jew" names a kid Mary.

She's not a Jew he or she is a troll.

I'll make sure to tell my grandmother, my aunt, and many other members of my family that they're not actually Jewish then. Apparently naming your kid a goyish name disqualifies you now.

[Anonymous]

Mary was Jewish. It’s a Jewish name. I think it’s beautiful. No matter your faith, Mary is an admirable figure in religious history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you made the right choice the last 3 times. Stick to it. There will be people (both other Jews and non-Jews) that will try to discredit her Jewishness based solely on her first name. Names matter.

LOL "discredit her Jewishness"

No "Jew" names a kid Mary.

She's not a Jew he or she is a troll.

This is not true. Can we stop with the broad generalizations? There are different observance levels. Many less observant or completely secular Jewish parents would feel completely fine using whatever name they wanted (even Mary). It also used to be (and still is to a lesser degree) common practice to use secular names because of high levels of antisemitism.