Names and Numen

What do Pope Benedict XVI, Barack Obama, Naftali Bennett, and Hosni Mubarak all have in common? Yes, they were all political leaders in the early 21st century, but this column is about names, not politics. So, my answer is actually that all their names are related to each other. Let me explain.

I am anticipating a deluge of angry letters from people listing off important persons named Elimelech that I’ve ignored, but the truth remains that despite the continued use of that personal name since Biblical times, Elimelech was always a fairly rare name until the times of the Noam Elimelech.

Just as acronyms serve modern convenience, they also hold a unique place in Jewish history and culture, where many family names actually derive from meaningful acronyms. These surnames serve as more than mere identifiers.

Interestingly, some argue the exact opposite: her original name was Batya, but she changed it to Bitya as an act of humility.

As an interesting aside that only etymologists like myself could appreciate, the name Juanacita itself sort of has a connection to Chanukah. This is because that name derives from the name Juan/John, which is a Latinization of the Hebrew name Yochanan.

In which we also explore the names Edna, Eidel, Ettel, and more.

...even though Avshalom the person might have been a wicked fellow, since his name has a positive meaning (father of peace, or my father is peace or something along those lines), it is still appropriate to use this name in naming our children.

While it is true that most typically Jewish names are simply taken from Tanach or Chazal (especially male names), not all do.