Jewish name

The Jewish name has historically varied, encompassing throughout the centuries several different traditions. This article looks at the onomastics practices of the Jewish people, that is, the history of the origin and forms of proper names.

First name

Early Biblical Era

The name conferred upon a person in early Biblical times was generally connected with some circumstance of that person's birth -- several of Jacob's sons are recorded as having received their names in this manner (Genesis 30). Generally, it was the mother who chose the name, as in the case of Jacob's sons, but there were occasions on which the father chose the child's name, such as in Genesis 16:15, 17:19, and 21:2. Occasionally, persons other than the parents were the name-givers, as in the cases of Moses (Exodus 2:10) and Solomon (II Samuel 12:25).

It appears to have been the custom in early Biblical times to confer a name immediately upon birth, but in later periods a name was given to a boy at circumcision (compare Luke 1:59 to 2:21). Before the Babylonian exile, it was not common practice to name children after their relatives, even in the royal family -- none of the twenty-one kings of Judah was named after a predecessor, or after David, the founder of the dynasty. On the other hand, a son of Jonathan and of King Saul were each named Meribaal (II Samuel 21:7 and following). Instead of repeating the exact name of an ancestor, however, it was customary to make use of one of the elements of the family name. Thus, Ahitub has two sons, Ahijah and Ahimelech. Three of Saul's family members have the element ba'al (in the altered form bosheth) in their names. As a consequence of this avoidance of repetition, a single name was as a rule sufficient to identify a person. It became traditional to identify a son by his father's name and a chosen name, like Jaazaniah ben Shaphan (Ezekiel 8:11) only in later years of Hebrew history.