Conference taveng::bagels

> But the girl's name will
>    be Ilona May (after two grandmothers).  I am puzzled over selection of
>    a girl's Hebrew name.  Can anyone make a suggestion based on Ilona? 

>  Can be Biblical or contemporary Israeli. 

Two modern feminine Hebrew names meaning "tree" are Ilana and Ilanit. For
"May," Miriam might be appropriate.

> Why Isaac?  This is my first child, after many years of
>    yearning.  That laughter is like no other.  May everyone share that
>    joy.

Amen.

Jem

    Ilona = Helen (in Hungarian)
    
    Is it of any help for other possibilities?
    
    /Piotr
    

    This seems exactly backwards to me.  In my family, to name a baby after
    someone means to give the baby the same Hebrew name as that person. 
    English names, which are usually "similar" to the Hebrew name, although
    not necessarily, are selected after the Hebrew name is decided.
    
    I'm sure different families have various customs, though.

Yes, Ilana is a perfectly good modern popular (in Israel) Hebrew name.
As for May, well this suggestion is only half serious, but the Hebrew
month which corresponds (roughly) to May is Sivan, and Sivan is also a
nice popular girl's name in Israel (there's even a popular song about
a girl with that name -- see title of this reply).

B'sha'ah Tovah (a more appropriate wish than "Mazal Tov" -- it means
may the baby be born well and in its proper time).

Sid

    From a book of Jewish names, I learned that Marie (and Mary) are
    directly derived from Miriam.  I never thought of Marie as a suitable
    Jewish name, but maybe that's not the case.
    
    What are some reactions to Ilona Marie?  (Hebrew=Miriam)  Does it sound
    too "goyish"?  I think Marie is a beautiful name but won't use it if it
    isn't right.  I can fall back on May or May.  (By the way the M
    grandmother was Mame.  The book says Mamie is a variant on Mary, also.)
    
    In response to Deb's question about naming after the relative's Hebrew
    name, our family's have not been careful to preserve those names.  We
    don't have time to give it proper research.  Since the English names
    were the most commonly used, this convention seems fine to us and to
    our parents.
    
    Thanks.  Hope you can answer this week.  I'll be on leave after Friday
    and plan to put my feet up and relax, at last.

Marie sounds very goyish to me (and, yes, I do know a Jew named Mary).
Why not use Miriam?

If you don't know the Hebrew/Yiddish name of a deceased relative, it may help
to ask older relatives if they remember any nicknames for the deceased relative.

    Hoo, boy!  Not in a million years would I suggest to my mother (Marie),
    a survivor of Bergen-Belsen who grew up in an orthodox
    family/community in Poland, that her name was goyish!!  And I'm sure
    that if if you knew my mother, you wouldn't either. ;-)
    
    Sid

    
    If you are looking for a girls 'M' name, my sister's name
    is Marlene, and she turned out OK  :-)
    
    Amy
    

    Well, my grandfather was named Morris, so I got the name Maurene.  A
    lot of curious people over the years have asked how I got my name.  I
    think May is a lot better than either Marie or Maurene, especially for
    a middle name.   But that's mostly personal preference.  Middle names
    don't usually get used enough to really shape a person's identity much.
    
    My mother (in her 70's) has a friend named Mary Cohen.  Here in
    Jerusalem we have a friend (also in her 70's) named Miriam, who
    confided that it says "Mary" on her birth certificate.  But, at least
    in that generation, it was a "goyish" name.  Marie...more exotic,
    less "goyish", but if you want to be safe, stick with May.
    
    Whatever you do, make sure you use the USUAL spelling of your child's
    name (she'll have trouble with Ilona whatever you do, but I don't see
    any way around that).  Here in Israel, people don't have any
    expectations about how Maureen should be spelled, so I'm safe...
    but a lot of people in Maynard have gotten "username unknown" when
    sending me e-mail.
    
    For what it's worth,
    Maurene

How about Miri?  It is a diminutive of Miriam and is used in Israel. No 
problem with the spelling or pronunciation, either in English or Hebrew.

Chatima Tova
Shalom
Baruch

    My grandmother was born Mary also, but somewhere along the line it got
    changed to Marian.  I like that name a lot.  (I think her Hebrew name
    is Miriam, which is a nice English name also).

My great-aunt Mary was one of my favorites. Her generation was Orthodox
from the Old Country.

What's this, one big family? :-) Aunt Mary's brother-in-law was my
grandfather Morris. My nieces are named Amy and Miriam.

Dave

    My grandmother's name is Malka (pronounced M-ah-lka). But I call her
    Ba (pronounced B-ah). -)

    My daughter's name is Molly - Hebrew name is Malka.

    Due date is tomorrow but no baby yet.  Will let y'all know when he/she
    arrives.  
    
    A further note of interest on "Marie".  My grandmother's English name
    was Mame.  In the Jewish book of names, it says Mamie is an Irish
    derivative of Mary.  And Mary was Greek for Miriam.  So Marie seems ok
    after all, to us.  With a Hebrew name of Miriam.
    
    Some feedback on Ilona May - one friend said it sound too much like
    Daisy May!  Oh well.  Looks like Marie prevails.
    
    For a boy - Isaac John.  With his Hebrew name being Yakov.  Granted, it
    will be confusing, since everyone will assume it's Yitzhak.  But I want
    to name him after his deceased grandfather Yakov. So - he'll have to
    do a little explaining.  But I figure he can handle it.
    
    Laura

    re: hebrew name for Isaac -- my father's hebrew name is Yitzhak Yakov
    -- his english name is Alexander -- no problem with two hebrew names.
    
    good luck!  and enjoy!!!!
    
    /sandy