Reply to Can I name my Jewish daughter Mary?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Mary is the anglicized version of Miriam, no? Do you not like Miriam? [/quote]
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. [/quote]

Had you not said this, I too would have suggested Miriam.  I am Jewish, and I would never name a child Mary.  Just like I would never name a child Christopher.  If I met a little girl named Mary, I would assume she is not Jewish, or perhaps 1/2 Jewish, but I would never guess she was the child of two Jewish parents.  I would pick a different name all together, or give Mary as middle name, or pick Meredith, Mira, Maya, etc.  Personally, I don't even think Mary is pretty (I think it is an old lady name), and I hate the nickname Mair.  [/quote]

I too was going to suggest Miriam. Can't you just say it's not after your best friend, it's after so-and-so? Assuming of course that it is.

How about Rosemary -- same nickname -- still goyish but not quite as much?

I would never think a Mary was Jewish. That said, my name (Katherine, named in memory of a Katerina from the old country) is also not Jewish and I have survived. But I get a lot of questions about it. The rabbi who married me and my husband was very skeptical that I was born Jewish. (My last name is also very goyish which didn't help!) It's not the end of the world, but I will admit to being a bit sensitive about it, as everyone I meet -- Jewish and not -- is surprised I am Jewish. I chose names for my children that, while not super Jewish, in combination with my Jewish husband's last name would not be surprising to fellow Jews.

At the end of the day, though, you have to go with a name you can live with. If that's Mary, and you don't mind Jews giving you surprised looks and your daughter always having to explain that she really is Jewish, then go for it. No different really from American Aoifes explaining how to pronounce their names, or a June explaining that she was born in January but her parents just liked the name, etc. Mary is a lovely name on its own merits.[/quote]

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