[Saya]

We are FINALLY getting our act together do do our daughter's conversion and naming. (She's 2 and a half, been home 2 years this month.) Woohoo!! Now we have to pick a Hebrew name - fun!!

Our daughter's first name is Anabel and her middle name is Vianey. Anabel is the name we gave her, after my husband's mother Ann who died when he was a child. (We don't know what his mother's Hebrew name was.) Vianey is one of the names her birthmother gave her.

Here are some of the names on our list:

Chana - seems like the obvious one, and we do like it and may well use it. But my niece is named Hannah (English name and Hebrew name) and I wonder if it's just too weird to have first cousins with basically the same Hebrew name.

Chanit - Close to Chana, but with enough of a twist to make a different. Means "spear" and I love the image of strength.

Aviva - Means "Spring" and she was born in the spring. Plus it's got the A.V. in it that matches her initials.

Leeba - Means "Beloved" in Yiddish, and Anabel also means Beloved from what I've researched.

Shayna (beautiful)
Anina (grace or favor)
Anaia (God answered) - All lovely names that have the a-n-a sound in it that seems to harken back to Anabel.

Thoughts? Preferences? Other ideas?

[linda512]

I really like Chanit but I think you should go with whatever you like best. I don't think it matters if her cousin has the same Hebrew name as her- how often will they be using them at the same time?
Congratulations on the conversion and on your journey to #2.

[JenC]

I'm not Jewish, so maybe I shouldn't chime in. I'm Christian, so sorry if I'm intruding! I really like Hebrew or Hebrew-based names though! I like Shayna, Anaia, and Aviva. I do think that you have good reasons to go with any of the names though!

[Kellster]

We gave our daughter the Hebrew name "Elianna"- it means MY G-d answered me (answered my prayers). I love the meaning and it sounds pretty...

Kelly

[yehudit]

Those are all lovely names and I know you'll mke the right decision.

If it makes you feel better, my rabbi won't convert my daughter until she is at least one. Apparently, he "lost" a baby in the mikvah for long enough to give everyone a good scare. The baby was OK, but he doesn't like doing conversions on young ones.

Good luck,

[Saya]

JenC - of course you're not intruding!!

yehudit - YIKES! Scary stuff!!!

Kelly - Elianna is really pretty! Maybe we'll put it on our list!

[makarios79]

I like Anaia out of the names you posted.

My favorite Hebrew name for a girl is Hadassah and that is probably what I am going to name my daughter (if I ever get one)..lol

If I ever have twin girls they will be Hadassah and Hannah....

Both my boys have a Hebrew name...

[portlowski]

I love all your name choices...I have always liked the name Havalah, ever since I saw Fiddler on the Roof when I was 9! It means life, which is also appropriate...

[Shai's Mom]

[quote=Saya]We are FINALLY getting our act together do do our daughter's conversion and naming. (She's 2 and a half, been home 2 years this month.) Woohoo!! Now we have to pick a Hebrew name - fun!!

Our daughter's first name is Anabel and her middle name is Vianey. Anabel is the name we gave her, after my husband's mother Ann who died when he was a child. (We don't know what his mother's Hebrew name was.) Vianey is one of the names her birthmother gave her.

Here are some of the names on our list:

Chana - seems like the obvious one, and we do like it and may well use it. But my niece is named Hannah (English name and Hebrew name) and I wonder if it's just too weird to have first cousins with basically the same Hebrew name.

Chanit - Close to Chana, but with enough of a twist to make a different. Means "spear" and I love the image of strength.

Aviva - Means "Spring" and she was born in the spring. Plus it's got the A.V. in it that matches her initials.

Leeba - Means "Beloved" in Yiddish, and Anabel also means Beloved from what I've researched.

Shayna (beautiful)
Anina (grace or favor)
Anaia (God answered) - All lovely names that have the a-n-a sound in it that seems to harken back to Anabel.

Congratulations and Mazal Tov!!

Another very nice name that might fit into your list is Leebie (Libby), which means "my Heart".
Aviva is nice, but is considered somewhat old-fashioned (in Israel, that is). The more contemporary version would be "Aviv"

[Shai's Mom]

Originally Posted by portlowski

I love all your name choices...I have always liked the name Havalah, ever since I saw Fiddler on the Roof when I was 9! It means life, which is also appropriate...

It's so touching, Tevye singing the song: Little bird, little Havale.. It's such a sweet name: Chava - Eve, Chavale - little Eve! (To think that Haim Topol almost didn't get the role of Tevye, because he was too young at the time)

[portlowski]

Originally Posted by Shai's Mom

It's so touching, Tevye singing the song: Little bird, little Havale.. It's such a sweet name: Chava - Eve, Chavale - little Eve! (To think that Haim Topol almost didn't get the role of Tevye, because he was too young at the time)

My brother in law played Tevye when he was 25! LOL He was pretty darn good too. Once he added the beard and the costume, yiou would never have guessed he was so young! (my father-in-law played Tevye too...it runs in the family!)

[Shai's Mom]

I'm really curious: what was your final choice? (sorry if I'm too nosy!!!)

[Saya]

We haven't made the decision yet - we've just been too busy! I'm sure we'll decide in the next few weeks, and I'll be sure to let you guys know!

[sak9645]

I like Aviva Chanit.

My daughter's English name is Rebecca Joy Chufang K------. Rebecca is for her deceased great-grandmother; my mother loved her mother very much and always wanted me to name a child after her. Joy reflects how I felt about adopting her, and is also for her grandfather, Jack, and her great-grandfather, Joseph, who are deceased. Chufang is the first and middle name assigned by her Chinese orphanage, and means "clear and beautiful".

My daughter's nickname is Becca. Since her great-grandmother was known as Becky, I wanted her to have a nickname that was unique to her.

For Becca's Hebrew name, I chose Rivka Gilat. Rivka, of course, is the Hebrew version of Rebecca. Gilat is one way to say "joy" in Hebrew. Gilat also sounds a bit like Goldie, her late grandmother's name. My mother would never have wanted me to name a child Goldie, as she hated her name, but I wanted to honor her in some way and this was what I chose.

My own Hebrew name is Sarah Chana. Sarah is for my father's mother, who died in what was then Russia, but what is now Belarus. Chana is for my father's sister, who also died overseas. While I am very partial to the name Chana, and love the story of the Biblical Hannah, who was infertile and prayed for a child so fervently that Eli, the priest, thought she was intoxicated, I recognize that you might not want two closely related Chanas in the family. However, if you adopted after a diagnosis of infertility, you might want to use the name Chana to give voice to your feeling of joy that you finally were able to have the child of your dreams.


Sharon

[Saya]

I am just bumping this thread up because we finally have a mikveh date - and I THINK a name. We're going to do the actually conversion next week (naming ceremony still to be scheduled). And I hesitate to say this because we could always change our minds in the next week (I know plenty of folks who thought they had the perfect name for their baby before the birth and changed their minds after), but I think we're going with Aviva Malka. Aviva for the reasons we have above - her initials are A.V., she was born in the spring, and we like the image of renewal - and Malka, well because one of her birthmother's given names is Reina, and Reina = queen = Malka. We were looking to find a way to honor her birthmother in her name, and that seems to be a way to do it.

Thank you all for your great advice and suggestions! I've had a real blast thinking about names! (And if we have a last minute change of heart I'll let you know. )