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Help[Opinions] Rivka
What would you think if you met a little Catholic girl with the name?
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Just sayin: I didn't know it was very Jewish. But I come from an area where there is like... 1 Jewish person per 10,000. So.
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I was raised with a strong religious, Catholic background yet I am not religious; I always wanted to be religious but I have no faith - and I've never had it.
This may be unusual for someone without faith, but I actually like religious heritage - and for people to have it as an influential attribute or peaceful calm or even regulating culture within their lives.
I love names with heritage - and I think this is a great name due its cultural and even religious heritage - but for anyone (girl), not necessarily or specifically Jewish, Catholic, or even religious or not.
The "ka" suffix is used in Russian to soften first names - male or female; so I'd have no problem if this name were used for a boy or a girl.
This may be unusual for someone without faith, but I actually like religious heritage - and for people to have it as an influential attribute or peaceful calm or even regulating culture within their lives.
I love names with heritage - and I think this is a great name due its cultural and even religious heritage - but for anyone (girl), not necessarily or specifically Jewish, Catholic, or even religious or not.
The "ka" suffix is used in Russian to soften first names - male or female; so I'd have no problem if this name were used for a boy or a girl.
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I'd find it odd. As odd as an Anglo child being named Desiderio. Nothing more, it wouldn't cause me to think anything particular about the parents.
This message was edited 1/9/2016, 5:33 AM
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Ooh... that's a pretty name.
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I wouldn't mind, but I'd think it was a little strange. I'm all for Hebrew names, but Rivka is so very Jewish. It's like meeting a little Catholic boy called Moshe.
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I LOVE it. I don't care who has the name. And, considering Rebecca is the English transliteration of Rivka, I think Rivka is not owned by people of the Jewish faith, but Christians, too.
I wouldn't hesitate to use Rivka, Tovah, Zipporah, etc any more than I would use Sarah, Eve, or Leah.
I wouldn't hesitate to use Rivka, Tovah, Zipporah, etc any more than I would use Sarah, Eve, or Leah.
This message was edited 1/8/2016, 6:59 PM
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I'd be a bit puzzled tbh. And I'd assume that, like many little Catholic girls, she has a Jewish grandma tucked away somewhere.
I think it's a lovely name,, btw.
I think it's a lovely name,, btw.
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It would be unusual, but I don't assume anything with Catholic naming. If trendy names are fair game, so are Hebrew ones.
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I wouldn't believe she was Catholic. Especially if she had a sister named Miriam.
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I'd wonder if they even had any idea, or if they just picked it off a name list because they thought it looked pretty. TBH
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Lol.
I find this so funny. A big part of the reason I love Hebrew names is because of my dad's love of the old testament and Hebrew language. I chose Miriam in part to honor him.
I find this so funny. A big part of the reason I love Hebrew names is because of my dad's love of the old testament and Hebrew language. I chose Miriam in part to honor him.
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Yah, I would think that the person who thinks "I wonder if they have a clue" didn't have a clue that the name is not singularly Jewish.
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it pretty much is ...
Linguistically I guess it technically isn't exclusively Jewish, but culturally it pretty much is.
Linguistically I guess it technically isn't exclusively Jewish, but culturally it pretty much is.
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I just read a book ("The Marrying of Chani Kaufman"), set in an Orthodox Jewish community in London;one of the characters was Rivka, her name was originally Rebecca, and she'd changed it upon her marriage.She was Jewish but not Orthodox until she married.
Good book, btw.
Good book, btw.
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I'm so dumb. I had no idea, lol. :P
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The problem with Rivka that it has a yiddish, even more than Hebrew or Old Testament vibe. It's not the same for Miriam or a bunch of other Hebrew names.
I think it's totally fine if, as a Catholic, you want to honor connections to Judaism, I think this name happens to be particularly unsuitable for this purpose.
I think it's totally fine if, as a Catholic, you want to honor connections to Judaism, I think this name happens to be particularly unsuitable for this purpose.
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I agree with you, 100%. It's very much tied to that culture. I *could* make an argument but it would be stretching it. I just don't agree that it's like Mohammad Rosenberg
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I disagree
Vigdis, I think its a beautiful name that, as a Christian, is lovely. I think that people who don't realize its a Christian name as well as a Jewish name are the ignorant ones. I think most people who aren't name nerds probably wouldn't even know its used in both religions anyway, so I don't see it as an issue.
Vigdis, I think its a beautiful name that, as a Christian, is lovely. I think that people who don't realize its a Christian name as well as a Jewish name are the ignorant ones. I think most people who aren't name nerds probably wouldn't even know its used in both religions anyway, so I don't see it as an issue.
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I'm ignorant, you say?
Gee, thanks for the tip. I'll try to remember to check with you or another proper name nerd, before I give any more personal impressions of names on the Name Opinions board.
Whether I'm ignorant or not, you know that arguing with people's personal impressions is silly, don't you? The database says the usage is Hebrew ... how many Catholic Hebrew speakers do you know? I know zero. I gave my impression - I did not insist that I was correct. I gave it because she asked for it. I trust she knows that I know, that I might be in a minority as small as 1, and that I'm making a judgment that could well be incorrect. I trust she knows that I don't mean I would laugh at her if she named her daughter Rivka. Why don't you know these things? Are you trying to discourage her from listening to me by calling my opinion ignorant, because you like the name? haha. Of course not!
Anyway, further explanation.
Rivka on a Catholic sounds trendy to me ... Hebrew names (and other exotic sounding forms of names) seem hip among Americans, in my impression. It would sound trendy to me on an American Jew as well (but I wouldn't wonder if they even knew it was a Hebrew form of Rebecca and not a separate name). Why would American Catholic parents choose Rivka and not Rebecca? I'd assume that someone non Hebrew speaking (that's virtually everyone who isn't Jewish), who named their kid Rivka, is looking for a "fresh" name, or a more hiptastic form of Rebecca and doesn't realize that to some of us, it sounds very likely to be the name of a Jewish girl - Well, it does to me at least, because where I live there happen to be scads of Hebrew speakers who came from Israel, and Rivka would not likely be the name of the American Catholic child, she'd be likely to be one whose parents are from Israel and various parts of Europe. I admit this may be distorting for my impressions of Hebrew names.
Sorry if that's ignorant because academically Rivka is also a Christian name... My personal impression is that Rivka is a name almost as markedly Hebrew as José is Spanish.
Gee, thanks for the tip. I'll try to remember to check with you or another proper name nerd, before I give any more personal impressions of names on the Name Opinions board.
Whether I'm ignorant or not, you know that arguing with people's personal impressions is silly, don't you? The database says the usage is Hebrew ... how many Catholic Hebrew speakers do you know? I know zero. I gave my impression - I did not insist that I was correct. I gave it because she asked for it. I trust she knows that I know, that I might be in a minority as small as 1, and that I'm making a judgment that could well be incorrect. I trust she knows that I don't mean I would laugh at her if she named her daughter Rivka. Why don't you know these things? Are you trying to discourage her from listening to me by calling my opinion ignorant, because you like the name? haha. Of course not!
Anyway, further explanation.
Rivka on a Catholic sounds trendy to me ... Hebrew names (and other exotic sounding forms of names) seem hip among Americans, in my impression. It would sound trendy to me on an American Jew as well (but I wouldn't wonder if they even knew it was a Hebrew form of Rebecca and not a separate name). Why would American Catholic parents choose Rivka and not Rebecca? I'd assume that someone non Hebrew speaking (that's virtually everyone who isn't Jewish), who named their kid Rivka, is looking for a "fresh" name, or a more hiptastic form of Rebecca and doesn't realize that to some of us, it sounds very likely to be the name of a Jewish girl - Well, it does to me at least, because where I live there happen to be scads of Hebrew speakers who came from Israel, and Rivka would not likely be the name of the American Catholic child, she'd be likely to be one whose parents are from Israel and various parts of Europe. I admit this may be distorting for my impressions of Hebrew names.
Sorry if that's ignorant because academically Rivka is also a Christian name... My personal impression is that Rivka is a name almost as markedly Hebrew as José is Spanish.
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I also thought that it sounded trendy, but wasn't sure how to phrase it. It has a "hipster Catholic" thing about it.
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I didn't call YOU ignorant (I was using the word as a generalization and not directing at anyone) and was not even replying to you, but yes, if people insist it is only a Jewish name then they are ignorant of the history of the name as a Hebrew name that is used by Christians and Jews despite many of those in the religions not speaking Hebrew. I'm not arguing with any one's personal impressions, I am arguing with it being thrown around as fact that its a singularly Jewish name, which is untrue.
You personal impression is fine. I'm sorry if you felt I was being aggressive to you. That wasn't the intention at all but seeing your reaction I feel maybe you felt it was.
You personal impression is fine. I'm sorry if you felt I was being aggressive to you. That wasn't the intention at all but seeing your reaction I feel maybe you felt it was.
This message was edited 1/8/2016, 10:44 PM
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ETA
If the vast majority of people have a very strong impression of it as a Jewish name, that's more significant than a technical fact. And the question was about impressions.
ETA: To put this a little better: Your reasoning seems to be "Rivka is from The Old Testament in the Bible, and Christians believe in The Old Testament, therefore, Rivka is a Christian just as much as Jewish name. That's a fact."
But if it has been used historically overwhelmingly only by Jews, that's a fact also, and has a strong influence on how the name is perceived.
The original question was "What would you think if...", not "Is this a Jewish name?", so people responded with the second fact in mind. Anyway, I saw only one response that could possibly be construed as stating a fact---"Rivka is so very Jewish." The rest were all dealing with impressions, so it's not really accurate to say that anyone was "insisting" it's only a Jewish name or that that was being "thrown around as fact."
Nobody said a Christian can't or shouldn't use it. You just seem to not want vigdis to be at all influenced by the fact that it's widely perceived as a Jewish name, but if that's the case she should at least be aware of it.
If the vast majority of people have a very strong impression of it as a Jewish name, that's more significant than a technical fact. And the question was about impressions.
ETA: To put this a little better: Your reasoning seems to be "Rivka is from The Old Testament in the Bible, and Christians believe in The Old Testament, therefore, Rivka is a Christian just as much as Jewish name. That's a fact."
But if it has been used historically overwhelmingly only by Jews, that's a fact also, and has a strong influence on how the name is perceived.
The original question was "What would you think if...", not "Is this a Jewish name?", so people responded with the second fact in mind. Anyway, I saw only one response that could possibly be construed as stating a fact---"Rivka is so very Jewish." The rest were all dealing with impressions, so it's not really accurate to say that anyone was "insisting" it's only a Jewish name or that that was being "thrown around as fact."
Nobody said a Christian can't or shouldn't use it. You just seem to not want vigdis to be at all influenced by the fact that it's widely perceived as a Jewish name, but if that's the case she should at least be aware of it.
This message was edited 1/9/2016, 6:32 AM
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I know nothing about religion, so I wouldn't bat an eye if she were Catholic. Would it be weird, or something?
As a name, I think it's kind of cool. I like the sound of it; kind of clunky, in a good way. You notice it.
As a name, I think it's kind of cool. I like the sound of it; kind of clunky, in a good way. You notice it.
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Like Tuesday, I'd assume her family had converted to Catholicism, or that there was some story behind why her name was Rivka and not Rebecca.
I met a young Rivka recently. Her family were Messianic Jews, but I would have assumed they were just regular Jews if the distinction hadn't been pointed out to me. It's a very, very Jewish name.
I adore the name Tirzah myself but also wonder what people would think of it being used on a Gentile child!
I met a young Rivka recently. Her family were Messianic Jews, but I would have assumed they were just regular Jews if the distinction hadn't been pointed out to me. It's a very, very Jewish name.
I adore the name Tirzah myself but also wonder what people would think of it being used on a Gentile child!
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It seems incongruous; it's definitely not the first name that comes to mind when I think of a Catholic person.
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it would be kind of like ...
Meeting a little Mohammed Rosenberg, or a Mary Margaret Abdullah.
Meeting a little Mohammed Rosenberg, or a Mary Margaret Abdullah.
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Not really. Its not "owned" by Jews. Its a Hebrew Biblical name, which means that anyone who follows the Bible could have the name.
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People who don't follow the Bible can have it too, says the atheist grandmother of Abraham, whose mother is also an atheist.
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that is true, however ...
As I said a little ways above, it isn't just a matter of languages.
Ibrahim and Avrom are the same name as Abraham, but no Jewish person would be likely to use Ibrahim, no Muslimn would be likely to use Avram, and I doubt your daughter would have chosen either one of them even though they are the same names as Abraham. You can say well, she liked the sound of Abraham best, and you'd be right, but I'm guessing it would be more than just sound that kept her from considering the other two.
Or consider the name Ebony. I happen to think this is a beautiful name, and I'm told that in Australia and the UK, it's fairly common on white girls, but here in the US it is most decidedly a culturally black name. You could say that Ebony is on a par with other precious-object names like Amber and Crystal, and again, you'd be right, but cold hard provable facts about origin and meaning aren't the only factors involved, for better or worse.
As I said a little ways above, it isn't just a matter of languages.
Ibrahim and Avrom are the same name as Abraham, but no Jewish person would be likely to use Ibrahim, no Muslimn would be likely to use Avram, and I doubt your daughter would have chosen either one of them even though they are the same names as Abraham. You can say well, she liked the sound of Abraham best, and you'd be right, but I'm guessing it would be more than just sound that kept her from considering the other two.
Or consider the name Ebony. I happen to think this is a beautiful name, and I'm told that in Australia and the UK, it's fairly common on white girls, but here in the US it is most decidedly a culturally black name. You could say that Ebony is on a par with other precious-object names like Amber and Crystal, and again, you'd be right, but cold hard provable facts about origin and meaning aren't the only factors involved, for better or worse.
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That's true. Abraham is a part of gentile Americans' culture. Even though at some point it came to be considered a predominately Jewish name, further back in history the Puritans began using Old Testament names, Abraham among them. We had a famous non-Jewish President named Abraham, after all. Ibrahim and Avram are not a part of our culture.
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It's interesting (maybe nauseating) to think about how our descendants will consider our name trends and the cultural motivations for them. We might say the Puritans used names for philosophical, religious, and political reasons they were at least semi-conscious of.... Or were they?
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Except Rivka / Rebecca is in the Old testament, which is shared between Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Mary & Margaret are New Testament and Mohammed is Qur'an.
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Completely agree!
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I'd think her mother or father was once Jewish and converted to Catholicism. Pretty hard for me to picture on someone who isn't Orthodox Jewish, as it's a name that's been ingrained in the culture for centuries. It's actually in the top 100 in New Jersey, I'm guessing because of the high Orthodox Jewish population in some areas here. I often pass a private Jewish elementary school with the name Rivka in it.
That being said, it technically is no different than using Rebecca/Rebekah. Interesting that the original versions of Hebrew names like Rivka, Eitan, or Elisheva are usually used exclusively on Jewish children, yet it's "okay" to use the English Rebecca, Ethan, and Elizabeth on Christian children.
I have this struggle with Shoshana myself.
That being said, it technically is no different than using Rebecca/Rebekah. Interesting that the original versions of Hebrew names like Rivka, Eitan, or Elisheva are usually used exclusively on Jewish children, yet it's "okay" to use the English Rebecca, Ethan, and Elizabeth on Christian children.
I have this struggle with Shoshana myself.
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I'm not sure the religion would play anything into but I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to say it.
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riv-kah
It's the original Hebrew form of Rebecca. I've always loved it, then I met one and feel even more in love
It's the original Hebrew form of Rebecca. I've always loved it, then I met one and feel even more in love
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