Mazel Tov!
Jewish Baby Names Becoming
Classic, Modern
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
A May 2021 Pew Research
Center study revealed that
younger Jews in the United
States were more likely than older
generations to migrate to the reli-
gion’s extremes; compared to their
22 elders, more American Jews in the
18-49 demographic identifi ed as either
Orthodox or of “no particular branch.”
Th ese are also the Jewish generations
bringing new Jews into the world and,
in naming their babies, they are exhib-
iting similar trends.

Philadelphia-area rabbis and cantors
who offi ciate at baby-naming ceremo-
MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
nies are seeing parents both rediscover
classic names and bring new ones into
fashion. Cantor Mark Kushner is a full-time,
certifi ed mohel, as he describes him-
self. A 2019 Jewish Exponent article on
baby naming said Kushner had “multi-
ple decades of experience performing
brit milahs and simchat bats,” and
estimated that he’d been “involved in
the naming of thousands of children.”
Kushner is still active in the area,
and he rattled off some of the names
he’s been seeing in the past few years.

“Many people are using names like
Rebel, Skye and Crew,” he said of the
more modern names.

“Th ere’s also, on the opposite, a
preponderance of Jacob, Max, Leo,”
Kushner added of the more classic
names. A December Kveller article backed
up at least half of Kushner’s claim,
listing several older, more traditional
names among the top selections of
2021. Monikers included Asher, Ezra
and Gideon for boys and Abigail, Ava
and Eliana for girls.

Babynames.com, which ranks the
most popular baby names in the U.S.,
listed some classic boy names, like
Oliver and Th eodore, near the top
as well, while the girls’ list showed
more-modern selections like Luna and
Hazel. Kushner explained that these trends
probably come from two emotional
places in the minds of parents; they
want their kids to stand out and they
want a name to off er insight into a
child’s, and eventually into an adult’s,
personality. Skye, for example, is a peaceful
insight; parents who choose this name
hope for their baby to have the qual-
ity of a blue sky: relaxed. Kushner
has conducted several ceremonies for
new babies named Shir, which means
song in Hebrew. Th ose parents prob-
ably desire their child to live a life of
rhythm, music and happiness.

Th is kind of symbolism is also an
excellent reason not to name your kid
Rebel, according to the cantor.

Cantor Mark Kushner
Cantor Kushner Archives
“If you call your child Rebel, be care-
ful what you wish for,” he said.

Rabbi Jonathan Kremer, who leads
the Shirat Hayam Congregation in
Ventnor, New Jersey, believes that the
classic and modern naming approaches
are positive. Not only do they show
respect for tradition and a desire to be
unique, but they also reveal a genera-
tion of adults that’s less enamored with
popular culture.

Kremer used to see more kids with
trendy names, perhaps inspired by
celebrities. He mentioned Britney,
for Britney Spears, and Lindsay, for
Lindsay Lohan, as two examples that
he remembered from 10 or more years
ago. But in the past decade, the rabbi has
seen everything from Brooklyn for a
girl to Erez, meaning cedar tree, for a
boy, to biblical options like Rachel and
David. “You can’t escape popular culture if
you’re online,” Kremer said. “But my
impression is parents are pushing away
from that and letting their hearts be
their guide.”
Rabbi Aaron Krauss, who guides
Beth El Synagogue in Margate, New
Jersey, agrees with Kremer that these
developments are for the better.

In particular, Krauss is happy to see
traditional and even biblical names
making a comeback.

Parents who use Jewish-sounding
names are confi dent in their Jewishness,
according to the rabbi. Th ey are also a



Mazel Tov!
stark contrast to their ancestors who, in an
understandable eff ort to assimilate, chose
names that didn’t sound as Jewish.

Today, in a society with more inter-
marriage than it used to have, even “the
non-Jewish partner seems to be comfort-
able with a Jewish name,” said Krauss.

“It’s a step in the direction of peo-
ple feeling more comfortable with their
Jewishness,” he added.

No matter what the modern trends are,
though, Jewish naming practices continue
to take on timeless qualities, according to
local rabbis.

First and foremost, there’s a divine inspi-
ration, they say.

A couple of months ago, Rabbi Moshe
Brennan of the Chabad of Penn Wynne
and his wife did not know what to name
their newborn son. So before leaving the
hospital, Brennan wrote Nehenya, mean-
ing comfort, on his son’s form.

Ten days later, Brennan’s cousin,
who was doing some research on their
great-grandmother, sent him a picture of
their great-grandmother’s grandfather’s
grave. It said Mordecai, son of Nehenya.

“It was a name in the family,” the rabbi
said. “No one else in the family for fi ve
generations.” “You’re going to pick a name and you
feel and think you’re making the choice,”
he added. “But it’s simply being revealed
to you.”
Th ere’s also a more conscious element,
according to Rabbi Abe Friedman of Temple
Beth Zion-Beth Israel in Philadelphia.

Oft en, parents will tell Friedman before
a naming ceremony that they picked a
moniker to honor a relative. Th e rabbi will
respond by asking them to think about
why they wanted to honor that relative,
and then to explain those reasons to the
child in a letter they read aloud during the
ceremony. By the time they stand up to speak, they
understand what stories, qualities and les-
sons they want to pass down from the elder
to the child.

“I think parents are very aware of what
they’re choosing,” he said. “Th is name is a
container of meaning.” JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
Cantor Mark Kushner with a couple and a new baby at a naming
ceremony. Mazel Tov!
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