Anonymous wrote:As a gentile, I'd see the last name and think Jewish but then I'd think, no, the first name Mary means not Jewish and was chosen to make that clear (I mean, if you have one of those German names that go either way).

I was thinking the same thing. I'd be confused and trying to figure it out. I'd either assume Mary was chosen to make it clear that she's not Jewish despite the last name OR that the parents are in a Jewish/Catholic interfaith marriage.

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.

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.

Amen

Anonymous wrote:Don’t do it. Your kids have SUCH Jewish names- this one would feel othered.

This was my first thought. I wouldn’t use Mary when other siblings have such very Jewish names. My great grandmother was Miriam and called herself Mary in English back when the goal was assimilation. You do have other options. You could choose Meredith with a nickname Meri. There’s also Marion. Miriam could of course be Miri, or Mimi.
Other options could be:
Ma’ayan
Mena
Maya
Mia
Molly
Mara
Meira
Mica

I haven't read all the comments, but I knew a Jewish woman named Meredith who went by Mere (pronounced Mary). I love the name Meredith.

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.

My cousin, fully Jewish, from Eastern Europe, is Mary in the United States. Maria (Masha) in her birth country.

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 actually laughable. Never speak in absolutes. It is foolish to say that every single Jew in the world would refrain from doing something because we all have free will. We’re not robots that are programmed to follow some handbook.

The very fact that there are Jewish women named Mary who are not converts proves your assertion false.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My name is Kristen, and I'm Jewish. (Go look up the meaning of Kristen.) My parents just liked the name.

As a child, I did sometimes feel jealous that all of my siblings got Jewish names. As an adult, it can be a pain because I'm religious.

And I thought I had it rough being a Jewish Teresa. I can only imagine being a Jewish Kristen.

Yup, what were your parents thinking? I am very curious.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Naomi and Malkah do not go together at all. Why have 3 Hebrew names and one very Catholic name. I mean, they better come up with a punch line for parties ( "We decided to donate one to the Catholic Church. Seems fair." )

Come up with a better name, OP. You started off one way, you can't change course like this now without being super weird.

Anonymous wrote:My name is Kristen, and I'm Jewish. (Go look up the meaning of Kristen.) My parents just liked the name.

As a child, I did sometimes feel jealous that all of my siblings got Jewish names. As an adult, it can be a pain because I'm religious.

And I thought I had it rough being a Jewish Teresa. I can only imagine being a Jewish Kristen.

My Jewish brother is named Christopher. My mom loved the name. It's always been a bit strange, since our family last name is clearly Jewish. FWIW, I love the idea of Meredith nn Meri ("mary").

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.

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 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.

One vote for Mara or Maren

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.