We’re Obsessed With Jewish Baby Names. Here’s Why.

When I was in school in the ’90s and early 2000s, having a unique name — one that wasn’t Lauren or Katie or Rachel — felt almost like a curse, like further proof that I didn’t belong. (Of course, my friends named Lauren, Katie and Rachel tell me today that they hated having the same name as four other people in their class.)

Today, at least according to my daughter’s elementary school yearbook, having a shared name is an anomaly. Aside from a few pairs of Henrys and Lilys, most of the nearly 500 kids in my daughter’s school don’t share a name with anyone else in their grade.

This might be a reflection of the fact that parents today are looking for unique baby names more than parents were in years past. Alongside that, a cottage baby name industry has emerged. Social media influencers parse through official baby name data, pluck out names that fit certain aesthetics and are obscure but not too obscure and film themselves pontificating on those names. Baby name consultants charge impressive fees to work with couples directly, hand-selecting names that feel like family names, or suggesting names that might bridge the gap between choices couples can’t agree on.

Are social media influencers curating lists of cowgirl-chic baby names because parents want more unique names? Or do parents want more unique names because they’ve learned that you can’t just name your baby after Grandma Linda in a world of cowgirl-chic Siennas and Dakotas?

My friends and I aren’t naming any babies right now, but we’re suckers for this kind of content. We send each other lists that include our kids’ names, puzzle over when “Millicent” became a “cool girl main character name,” and secretly remain subscribed to the baby naming newsletters we signed up for when we were pregnant.

Belonging to a particular culture that has its own naming traditions — in my case, being Jewish — adds another layer. I don’t have any data to suggest that more Jews are going for explicitly Jewish names, but I think having a built-in parameter is enticing right now. Think about it: For parents who live in the U.S. and don’t want an ultra-popular baby name, don’t want to resort to choosing the third most popular spelling on a semi-popular baby name (think: Kayleigh), and think the idea of sifting through every name in the entire universe is exhausting, having an already culled stockpile of names that span generations, continents and languages — each with a rich history connected to their heritage — is an asset. 

In this ecosystem, discussing (and, naturally, arguing about) Jewish baby names feels more fun than ever. We’ve had a Jewish baby name bank on Kveller since around the time we launched in 2010, but our baby name universe has moved beyond consulting a name dictionary and moving on. On Instagram, Kveller readers love to weigh in on detailed requests for baby name suggestions, wax nostalgic about the baby names they chose, connect with other readers who share their Jewish name, and roll their eyes at us for curating lists of Taylor Swift inspired baby names. (We like to think of it as using a cultural hook to amplify under-appreciated baby names — Ayala deserves a second look whether or not it happens to loosely connect to the word “swift!”)

Our fascination with this kind of content — which is, for us, an exploration into culture and trends — is what inspired the Kveller team to start a Jewish baby name of the day email, which launched this week. Featuring biblical classics, modern Israeli monikers, and names that fall under the ever-so-scientific category of “Jew-ish,” it’s meant for anyone who finds names fascinating — baby on the way or not.

The uptick in Jewish baby name interest surprised us at first, but it’s starting to make sense. In a world of baby name lists designed to win over an algorithm, isn’t it nice to see names that connect us to something bigger than that?

Sign up for Kveller’s Jewish Baby Name of the Day newsletter here. With thanks to our sponsor PJ Library — free Jewish children’s books mailed to your door.