Is Luke too Christian?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Catholic here -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -- doesn't get more New Testamenty (yes, new word) than that.

1/3 of my extended family is Jewish and there are Matthews and Marks aplenty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm. Practicing Jewish here and was going to say if you're not following the tradition of naming after a relative it doesn't matter. Then I looked up Luke and read about the Gospel of Luke. Now I'm with the PP. Assuming Wikipedia is correct, the meaning is way too Christian for a Jewish boy. Even if you're not practicing, he might want to when he's older and might be embarrassed about his name. Or, he won't and all this worry will be for nothing. What is you and your husband's criteria for a name? Is it only something you like or does the meaning matter? That might guide your selection. Good luck.

The meaning of Luke is light-bringing or luminous. How is that “way too Christian”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmm. Practicing Jewish here and was going to say if you're not following the tradition of naming after a relative it doesn't matter. Then I looked up Luke and read about the Gospel of Luke. Now I'm with the PP. Assuming Wikipedia is correct, the meaning is way too Christian for a Jewish boy. Even if you're not practicing, he might want to when he's older and might be embarrassed about his name. Or, he won't and all this worry will be for nothing. What is you and your husband's criteria for a name? Is it only something you like or does the meaning matter? That might guide your selection. Good luck.

The meaning of Luke is light-bringing or luminous. How is that “way too Christian”?

DP. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Evangelizing is still referred to as "sending the light" so the definition of the name Luke seems to directly reference Luke the Evangelist. People will assume you're Christian. If this doesn't matter to you, it's still a nice name.

[Anonymous]

3 of the 4 boys named Luke in the HS where I teach are Jewish.

This is a weird question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think of it as a Catholic name.

I’m wondering how she came up with that. It’s Advent right now and coincidentally the gospel for this year is guess who’s?

[Anonymous]

This child is now 11 years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Star Wars.

+1. Luke Skywalker

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I think of Mary, Christopher and Christine as the real big no-nos for Jews, and funny enough I know Jews with these names. They are all fine, well adjusted adults who seem to be okay with their names. Luke is boarder line to me, but obviously it bothered me enough to mention it here.

We are naming the baby after a beloved relative who has passed and our tradition is to give the baby Hebrew name of person that passed (that is only used when they are bar mitzvahed and at the circumcision) and the first letter of the English name of the person who passed, which is L. I don't really like any other L names for boys.

We are not super Jewish, but some relatives in our family our more observant and I don't want to offend anyone since we are supposed to be honoring the person who passed.

How about Lev?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I think of Mary, Christopher and Christine as the real big no-nos for Jews, and funny enough I know Jews with these names. They are all fine, well adjusted adults who seem to be okay with their names. Luke is boarder line to me, but obviously it bothered me enough to mention it here.

We are naming the baby after a beloved relative who has passed and our tradition is to give the baby Hebrew name of person that passed (that is only used when they are bar mitzvahed and at the circumcision) and the first letter of the English name of the person who passed, which is L. I don't really like any other L names for boys.

We are not super Jewish, but some relatives in our family our more observant and I don't want to offend anyone since we are supposed to be honoring the person who passed.

How about Lev?

OP is presumably not going to be renaming her 11 year old. This thread is from 2012.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only absolute no-nos for a Jewish boy, in my opinion, are Christian, Christopher, and Jesus. (And Judas I suppose, but who would ever use that?) Luke does sound Christian, but it's not terrible.

FWIW, I have a non-Jewish first and last name (but was born and raised Jewish) and when I am introduced to other Jews, at shul or wherever, they assume I am either Christian or a convert. I know this because they have told me so. It doesn't bother me that much anymore, though it used to.

If you love Luke, then go for it. I love the name Paul and would consider using that for a son. It's fairly Christian but I have known Jewish men with the name, and the kids will have my husband's last name which is a traditional Jewish name, so I figure it cancels out.

Why is Christopher a no for a Jewish boy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only absolute no-nos for a Jewish boy, in my opinion, are Christian, Christopher, and Jesus. (And Judas I suppose, but who would ever use that?) Luke does sound Christian, but it's not terrible.

FWIW, I have a non-Jewish first and last name (but was born and raised Jewish) and when I am introduced to other Jews, at shul or wherever, they assume I am either Christian or a convert. I know this because they have told me so. It doesn't bother me that much anymore, though it used to.

If you love Luke, then go for it. I love the name Paul and would consider using that for a son. It's fairly Christian but I have known Jewish men with the name, and the kids will have my husband's last name which is a traditional Jewish name, so I figure it cancels out.

Why is Christopher a no for a Jewish boy?

It literally means "Christ bearer." St. Christopher lived in the 3rd century AD and carried a small child, who was later revealed to be Christ, across the water. He is depicted in art work with a little boy (Christ) sitting on his shoulder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3 of the 4 boys named Luke in the HS where I teach are Jewish.

This is a weird question.

Why is it weird?

I don’t know any Jewish Lukes. Maybe Lucas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3 of the 4 boys named Luke in the HS where I teach are Jewish.

This is a weird question.

Why is it weird?

I don’t know any Jewish Lukes. Maybe Lucas.

Luke is the nickname for Lucas. My Jewish husband’s name is Lucas but he goes by Luke. Lucas feels very little kid to me.

[Anonymous]

What’s wrong with a name being Christian?

[Anonymous]

I advised my Christian friends not to name their daughters Rachel. It's waayyy too Jewish.