Alter

אַלטער

• Gender: Male
• Origin: Yiddish
• Meaning: old

• Naming a baby "old" might raise an eyebrow or two, but in Yiddish-speaking communities, Alter was actually a name of deep love and protection. It was given as a kind of blessing, sometimes even as an amulet for a sick child, with the idea that calling a baby "old" could trick the evil spirits into leaving them alone. It is a name born from the fierce, sometimes superstitious devotion of parents who would try anything to keep their children safe.

  Holocaust survivor and author Alter Wiener shared his powerful story with over a thousand audiences through his memoir From a Name to a Number. In an era when parents are rediscovering Yiddish names with real soul, Alter feels like a hidden treasure. It carries the same vintage gravitas as Saul or Irving but with a far richer backstory. Picture introducing this name and watching someone's face shift from puzzled to fascinated as you explain the tradition behind it — that is the Alter effect.

• Potential Sibling Name:
  Shaina
  ,
  Golda
  ,
  Zalman
  ,
  Dovid
• Theme: positive qualities