Celebrate Your Name Week

Reposted and updated from 2009 

The first week of March is Celebrate your Name Week

Celebrate Your Name Week is a holiday created in 1997 by American amateur onomatologist Jerry Hill. Hill declared the first full week in March a week for everyone in the world to embrace and celebrate his or her name, and to appreciate names in general, by having fun getting to know facts about names. This is a week set aside to participate in names-related hobbies, activities, and to take part in entertaining names-related events inspired by a fondness for and true appreciation of names.

My first name: John

John comes from the Hebrew Yochanan, meaning 'G-d is gracious.' It isn’t short, as some assume, for Jonathan. Jonathan comes from the Hebrew Yanatan, which means 'Gift from G-d,' and is a longer form of Nat(h)an.

My Hebrew name: בָּרוּ (Baruch).

Baruch is a Hebrew word meaning, “Blessed.” Benedict is the common English version of this name. My parents chose “Baruch” naming me after my great grandfather, Barnet "Barney" Newmark (1886-1956).

My middle name: Cruvant.

Cruvant is one of my ancestral surnames, the maiden name of my paternal great grandmother Bertha Cruvant Newmark (1887-1978; She and Barney were married in 1911.) Since my parents followed the tradition of choosing names from deceased ancestors, my middle name came from Bertha’s father, Moshe Leyb Cruvant. The origin of Cruvant is the town Kruvandai, Lithuania. Almost every conceivable phonetic spelling exists somewhere on the family tree: (C/K)r(U/OO)van(T/D). I blame it on individuals who were used to transliterating Hebrew to English, and had no problem 'transliterating' Lithuanian to English as well, even if the two languages shared an alphabet.

My surname: Newmark

The origin of our surname isn’t certain. It is thought that the surname was Neimark (or Nejmark) in Poland. There are multiple Newmark “clans” in the United States, and it is uncertain whether they are related, though several appear to have originated in Poland, and several made stops along the way in Great Britain.

Namesakes

I share the name “John Newmark” with a Canadian pianist (1904-1991) - Though he came from Germany, and his original surname was Neumark.

I also share my name with the British biologist, and identical twin who appeared on the television show, To Tell the Truth, with his brother, George.

Yankel and the Holding Cell

Found this in a drafts folder. I wrote this a couple years ago to post, but I never did. Nothing's changed.

We’ve placed a relative in a holding cell.  We didn’t know where else to put him.  But somewhat similar to Schrödinger’s infamous cat, who is half-alive and half-dead, he’s in two different holding cells simultaneously, depending upon whether you ask me, or my cousin.

Yankel, son of Meier, was born in an Eastern European shtetl about 1839. This we know from census records.  A Meier was born in 1795.  I consider him the ‘father’ of the line, though we do know the name of a brother.  Meier would have been 44 in 1839.  Not too old to be a father.

My cousin, who’s been researching the family for twenty years, has created a Meier son of Meier to be the father of Yankel, because he fits better in the next generation.  When I remind her that this goes against European Jewish tradition, she reminds me that most Jews had multiple Jewish names, and the birth records only have one written down.  One could have been Meier Zev, and the other Meier Leyb.  Or for that matter, one could have been Zev Meier and the other Leyb Meier.  Still, I feel uncomfortable creating the appearance of a ‘junior’ unless there is proof that a ‘junior’ existed. 

The superstition was that the Angel of Death could get confused and take the infant instead of the father/grandfather.  Superstitions like that only fade away when infant mortality begins to drop, and parents stop asking G-d, ‘why did you take our child?’  In the 20^th century it’s just a tradition, one that gets broken on occasion, but in the 19^th century I suspect the superstition still held.

Still, for both of us, it’s a holding cell.  A guess.  We are almost certain he is a member of the family and fits in somewhere, along with all of his descendants. (Which could be tested with a DNA surname study.)  I’m more comfortable with my holding cell; she is more comfortable with hers.  The important thing is that we make notes that it is a holding cell.  She has been extremely careful to cite all sources and explain all logic to the point that I occasionally think she’s gone a little overboard in her notes.  But it’s a good practice I need to learn.

Hopefully, someday, Yankel will be free.

Jewish Mysticism, Genealogy, and Tombstones

Expanded upon from a 2008 post

One aspect of Kabbalah, a Jewish form of mysticism, is the interplay between numbers and letters.

"Kabbalah teaches every Hebrew letter, word, number, even the accent on words of the Hebrew Bible contains a hidden sense; and it teaches the methods of interpretation for ascertaining these meanings." - source

Three of these methods are Notarikon, Gematria, and Temurah. While primarily used as a means to interpret the scriptures, they can be used elsewhere, so an overview of the methods can be helpful to the genealogist with Jewish ancestry. (An overview is pretty much all I know and can provide; I don't have deep knowledge.)

Notarikon – A method of using the initial and/or final letters in a group of words to form words/phrases.

My great-great grandfather, Moshe Leyb Cruvant, was referred to as Moshe Leyb "the king" by at least one of his daughters, probably as a Hebrew joke, based on the initials of his name. (The Hebrew letters of   Mem-מ, Lamed-ל, Kopf-ך spell the word,  Melek-מלך, meaning King.) This is a usage of Notarikon.

Similarly, Moshe Leyb was honored with several grandchildren, one named Melvin Lester, another Monroe Leslie, and a third Morris Louis. Without knowing the importance of initials in mystical thought, this might appear to be a coincidence of names instead of grandchildren being named after their deceased grandfather.

Note: Leyb is the Yiddish word for Lion. Leyb was one of several new animal names which became popular in the European Jewish community in the 18th century. Prior to that animal names were common, but were limited to those that had appeared in the bible. Philip Trauring at Blood and Frogs writes more about Jewish animal names.

Both Yiddish and Hebrew variants are used, and sometimes interchangeably. One of my ancestors on some documents was Zev Perlik and others Vulf Perlik. (Wolf. Since many English words are Germanic in root, and since Yiddish has Germanic roots, sometimes Yiddish and English words are similar.)

Many immigrant Jews Americanized their names, and often they did this by finding a common American name that began with the same initial letter(s). Until recent research, I thought Vulf Perlik's name was "William" as that is how it was recorded in our family documents. 'William,' of course, shares the first two consonants with 'Vulf.' (Like Latin, and some other languages, there is no 'W' sound in the Hebrew alphabet.) Vulf didn't immigrate, but some of his children 'changed' his name to 'William' in the oral history.

Similarly, another ancestor's Hebrew name was 'Zvi,' or 'deer.' The Yiddish variant is 'Hirsch', and a common Americanization is, "Harry.” Without knowing the animal names, and the process of Notarikon, one might be very confused how the name 'Harry' was derived from 'Zvi'.

This tradition of using the initial letter or letters to change names can be useful for parents in naming their children if an ancestor had a name that is uncommon today.

Gematria – A method of assigning numerical values to letters, calculating the numerical value of words/phrases, and associating them with other words/phrases of matching value.

Perhaps the best known example of Gematria is with the Hebrew word, 'chai,' meaning 'life.' Formed with the Hebrew letters Chet-(8)-ח and Yod-(10)-י, the numerical value is 18. Many Jews will give charitable donations in multiples of $18 to symbolize 'life'.

Leah is a very common Hebrew name for girls. The reason goes beyond her appearance in the Torah as one of Jacob’s wives. Her Hebrew name לאה (Lamed-30-ל + Aleph-1-א + Hay-5-ה) is equivalent to 36, or double 18.

Hebrew letters are commonly used as equivalents to the numbers, and of particular importance to the genealogist, they are used when writing years, such as on tombstones.  However, usually the first digit of the year is left off.  For example, the current Hebrew year of 5771 would be written as 771 (or actually, as: 400-300-70-1) - תשעא (more detailed explanation)

(Hebrew tombstones have a "Year 6000" problem, but it's 229 years away.)

Two websites I have found helpful in computing Gematria are Numberman’s Gematria Calculator
and The Bible Wheel’s Hebrew and Greek Gematria Database

The Bible Wheel has a Biblical concordance, including the New Testament, and allows you to search for words using the English translation, though it uses the King James Version of both testaments. Numberman’s Gematria Calculator is useful if you already know the Hebrew characters for the word you are looking up.

When you use The Bible Wheel’s concordance you have to be somewhat careful as Hebrew frequently attaches endings to words adding prepositions, and the like. For example, if you search for the number 42, twelfth in the results you will see “Leah.” If you look at the Hebrew you will notice it has an extra letter than what I have above, and if you follow the link to the Biblical passage in Genesis, you will see the word that appears in that passage really means “and Leah.”

Let's take a look at how this might appear on a tombstone. Below is the tombstone of my great grandfather's brother, Max Newmark

• Above the English surname, in the middle of the Star of David, are the letters Pay-Nun This is an abbreviation for Po Nikbar, meaning "here lies."

• The first line of Hebrew reads: "Meyer Vulf."  The second line reads: "Bar (son of) Samuel Yosef Newmark."

• It is the third line where numbers are first used.  The first word is "Niftar" meaning "Died."  The second word is: Yod (10) - Daled (4).  The third word is Sh'vat , the name of a Jewish month. The final word is: Tav (400) - Resh (200)  - Tzade (90) - Aleph (1) .  
• So the date of his death was the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Sh'vat, in the year 5691.  (Remember, the first digit of the year is usually dropped.) This converts to Feb 1, 1931.  I happen to know Max died on January 31.  Why is it a day off?  Because he died after sunset, and the Hebrew day begins at sunset on the previous Gregorian date.

• The final line of Hebrew is clearly an acronym on this tombstone, but the periods are often removed, and it appears as if it were a single word. It is usually at the bottom of a stone, as it is here.  It's based on a biblical passage from the Book of Samuel (25:29) and translates to: "May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life."

Temurah – Exchanging letters in words to create new ones. There are three primary types of Temurah. (I'll use the Roman alphabet to illustrate)

1) (Atbash) A exchanged with Z, B exchanged with Y, C exchanged with X...
2) (Avgad) A becomes B, B becomes C, C becomes D...Z becomes A.
3) (Albam) A exchanged with N, B exchanged with O, C exchanged with P…M exchanged with Z.

I don't know of any examples in my family tree, where names were created using one of these methods, and I haven't heard of it happening in other families. However, there is one example from literature.

Some creative readers suggested that Arthur C Clarke came up with the name for his misbehaving computer in the novel, 2001, through a reverse-Avgad technique -- HAL being derived from IBM. Clarke has denied this, insisting it was a coincidence, and that the name is actually a Shakespearean reference to Henry V, referred to as Prince Hal in the drama, Henry IV. Clarke probably expects readers to believe that since he is British, he is more likely to make a Shakespearean reference than a reference to an American computer company. Yeah, right.

***

I've not been trained in any of these methods specifically. I knew about gematria growing up solely through the importance of Chai and the number 18. Some examples appear in the book/film The Chosen by Chaim Potok, which I remember reading in high school. I read the book, The Bible Code a few years ago which goes into some more detail.

I've been fascinated with numerology for a long time.. When a nephew was born at 6:37 pm, I 'rounded down' in 'military time' to 18:36:54. I'll now never forget the time he was born. Interestingly, I discovered in my maternal grandfather's address book that next to my birthday was written the time I was born. (12:05 pm) I have no idea why it interested him, but the time is not written next to any other birthday. Jokes have been made over the years that I was 'born just in time for lunch."

Resources

• Abbreviations and Terms on Tombstones in Poland
• How to Read a Hebrew Tombstone 
• Hebrew-Gregorian Date Converter
• Bible Wheel's Greek/Hebrew Gematria Database
• Numberman's Gematria Calculator
• Hebrew Numerals (Wikipedia)
• Kaballah (Wikipedia)
• Animal Names as First Names in Hebrew (Wikipedia)
• Animals and Name Pairs in Jewish Given Names (Blood and Frogs)
• Jewish Mysticism and Genealogy (2008 post)

On the Spelling of Names

My eighth great grandfather's first name appears on historical documents as Myndert, Meyndert, and Mindert. His surname appears as both Frederickse and Fredericksen (with and without the 'c'). This isn't due solely to others writing his name down differently each time -- I suspect he may have written it differently each time, too. I believe our early colonial ancestors often didn't care how their name was spelled. Reading documents of that time, you can tell, they didn't care how anything was spelled. Written language was often phonetic.

Those of us familiar with the transliteration of languages from non-Arabic alphabets see something similar today. My Hebrew name is often spelled either Barukh or Baruch. There is only one Hebrew spelling, though:  בָּרוּךְ. I was named after my great grandfather, Barnet Newmark.

These thoughts are inspired by the following post:

Dr. Elizabeth Anne Hull has issued a statement in which she says, “My dearly beloved parents, who sadly have passed away, did not name me ‘Elizabeth Ann Hull.’ Instead they named me ‘Elizabeth Anne Hull,’ with an e, and I would be grateful if anyone who has occasion to write my name down would conform to their wishes.”

Source: The Way The Future Blogs - the blog of Science Fiction author, Frederik Pohl, husband of Dr. Elizabeth Anne Hull.

It seems her name issues are long running. In April of 2009, she wrote a post entitled A Rose by Any Other Name, wherein she talked about being called Betty, or Mrs. Pohl. and how even fans often insert a 'c' in her husband's given name.

I know how she feels. I have people occasionally refer to me as 'Jonathan.' Some of them assume "John" is actually a short-form, and Jonathan has to be my given name. I think this happens, partially, because Jonathan is a well-known figure in the Old Testament, and John is a well-known figure in the New Testament.  And these people know I'm Jewish.  However, both names originate from Hebrew names. John from 'Yochanan' and Jonathan from 'Yehonatan'. Nathan is actually a common short-form for Jonathan. However, my issue is less with spelling and more that they're calling me the wrong name. Personally, and etymologically.

As genealogists, of course, we have to in some ways ignore how names are 'supposed' to be spelled, as they can get written down in any number of ways, and if we are only searching for one spelling, we'll miss a lot.  It may be unlikely that a census taker would write my name down as "Jonathan," but they could.

Five Biblical Names (maybe not) Perfect for Your Children

The Jewish Publication Society Blog suggests the Five Best Biblical Names.

Orginality. It’s one of the few things almost everyone wants. People dress in unique styles, dye their hair crazy colors, and tattoo their bodies, all in an attempt to be different from the pack.

That’s how things are today.

[...]

The problem is, with everyone trying to find something new, originality is becoming harder to obtain. So, I have come up with a solution. For those trying to find unique names, look no further than the Bible! I can guarantee that most of these names are not in use today, ensuring that you will be unique! Even better, some of the greatest names ever can be found in the Bible. Need some ideas? Here are my top five Biblical names of all time (hope they make you smile)

You'll have to follow the link to read their five choices. Here's mine:

1) Cain - You might think no one would name their child after the first person to commit murder. But according to my research, there were over 1200 Cains in the US in 1900, so that's likely 1200 sets of parents willing to do so.

2) Tubalcain - If my quick calculations are correct, the fourth great grandson of Cain, there is nothing negative associated with him. He actually 'forged all implements of copper and iron.' Any child should be proud of that. However, there is only one Tubalcain in the 1900 census. (Though there are three Tubals with the middle initial C, so let's say there are four.)

3) Ham - Some might fear this name is a bit treyf. But perhaps you'll raise a natural born comedian/comedienne. 3000 Hams in the 1900 census. (If you love your child, don't make this choice if your surname is Eggs. Please.)

4) Pishon - This isn't a person, but the name of one of the four branches of the river that flowed out of Eden. If you're going to name a child after a river, 'Pishon' is a much better choice than 'Mississippi' in my opinion. But don't get creative and name the kid, 'Pishoff.' That name has its problems. There is one Pishon in the 1910 census.

5) Methusaleh - Methusaleh lived to be 969 years old. There are no Methusalehs in the 1900 census, and there are very few people who are listed in the 1900 census, who are still alive today. Very Few. Coincidence?

These are just my five favorite from the first five chapters. Imagine the names you could find if you read more than that!

Famous Namesakes

Neil Armstrong lives nearby Neil Armstrong, but isn't Neil Armstrong, or at least, isn't that Neil Armstrong.

Apparently some people confuse a 38 year old Financial Services Professional named Neil Armstrong with the 79 year old astronaut. Though the news story doesn't say whether the astronaut ever gets asked to provide financial services.

No one has ever confused me with the famous Pianist. Of course, I have never lived in Canada. And since he passed away 8 years ago, the likelihood of confusion has diminished. As far as I am aware, there is no relationship.

Amanuensis Monday: An unsent letter?

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

My grandfather, Martin Deutsch, working for the Chicago Post Office, accepted the promotion to Postal Ispector in the St. Louis Division in June of 1933. However, the division covered a large amount of territory, and I believe he was in Fort Smith, Arkansas for a year.

The below letter was written in June of 1934 to the Inspector-in-Charge of the St. Louis Post Office. It accepts a transfer to the St. Louis headquarters, and requests a name change.

I don't believe this version of the letter was actually sent, as it doesn't appear in his Official Personnel Folder. It only appeared in my grandfather's personal records. If it was sent, his request to change the spelling of his name was denied. (And I don't know why such a request if desired would be denied, so it seems logical it was never actually sent.) However, it suggests my grandfather, at least at that point in his life, thought his last name was pronounced a little differently than I was taught. (Research indicates he thought it was pronounced in the traditional German fashion, almost sounding like "ditch" and I have always heard it pronounced in the Austrian fashion, rhyming with 'boy'.)

---

M.J. Deutsch
Inspector Fort Smith, Arkansas, June 8, 1934

Mr. W.L. Noah,
Inspector in Charge,
Saint Louis, Missouri.

This is in response to your communication of the 5th of this month, relative to my possible transfer to Saint Louis. I believe that I would like such an assignment, and a transfer to headquarters would be satisfactory to me.

At this time, I would like to submit a request which I have been considering for some time, but for which I have not found the opportunity until now. I have at various times thought of changing the spelling in my surname, which, although pronounced as it would be if spelled “Dyche”, has a number of superfluous letters. It has caused embarrassment and confusion at different times and is quite a handicap particularly on this job in which much traveling is done and new people are very frequently met. I would like to request permission to change the spelling in my surname, spelling it the way it is pronounced, in the manner noted, “Dyche”. I am making this request at this time so that it may be made effective at the time of my transfer to another domicile, at which time it would cause the least confusion.

I realize that the change requested will cause confusion in the records for awhile, but I believe that this will be righted in a short time, and it will be advantageous as time goes on. In the event that the request is granted, a change will be necessary in my traveling commission and this feature should receive consideration. Your approval and favorable recommendation in this matter will be appreciated.

Post Office Inspector

---

There is a country music lyric, written by Garth Brooks: "Some of G-d's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." I think the same may go for unsent letters.

There is also the possibility that the letter was meant to be humorous. I don't understand the reference to his 'traveling commission' needing to be changed, but in context, it sounds like it might have been an inside joke.

---

If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post below, or in the comments.

Celebrate Your Name Week

The first week of March is Celebrate your Name Week

Celebrate Your Name Week is a holiday created in 1997 by American amateur onomatologist Jerry Hill. Hill declared the first full week in March a week for everyone in the world to embrace and celebrate his or her name, and to appreciate names in general, by having fun getting to know facts about names. This is a week set aside to participate in names-related hobbies, activities, and to take part in entertaining names-related events inspired by a fondness for and true appreciation of names.

My first name: John

John comes from the Hebrew Yochanan, meaning 'G-d is gracious.' It isn’t short, as some assume, for Jonathan. Jonathan comes from the Hebrew Yanatan, which means 'Gift from G-d,' and is a longer form of Nat(h)an.

My Hebrew name: בָּרוּ (Baruch).

Baruch is a Hebrew word meaning, “Blessed.” Benedict is the common English version of this name. My parents chose “Baruch” naming me after my great grandfather, Barnet "Barney" Newmark (1886-1956).

My middle name: Cruvant.

Cruvant is one of my ancestral surnames, the maiden name of my paternal great grandmother Bertha Cruvant Newmark (1887-1978; She and Barney were married in 1911.) Since my parents followed the tradition of choosing names from deceased ancestors, my middle name came from Bertha’s father, Moshe Leyb Cruvant. The origin of Cruvant is the town Kruvandai, Lithuania.

My surname: Newmark

The origin of our surname isn’t certain. It is thought that the surname was Neimark (or Nejmark) in Poland. There are multiple Newmark “clans” in the United States, and it is uncertain whether they are related, though several appear to have originated in Poland, and several made stops along the way in Great Britain. I am unsure of the family origins of the British Member of Parliament, Brooks Newmark, or the British celebrity chef, Rex Newmark.

Namesakes

I share the name “John Newmark” with a Canadian pianist (1904-1991) - Though he came from Germany, and his original surname was Neumark.

I also share my name with the British biologist, and identical twin who appeared on the television show, To Tell the Truth, with his brother, George.

What's in a Name?

Olive Tree Genealogy raises the topic of nicknames that aren't derived from given names - how we can't assume "Uncle Charlie's" name was actually Charles.

She asks others to contribute similar occurrences in their family tree.

My grandmother Sissie (Feinstein) Newmark was born "Belle". It's not too difficult to guess that one of her brothers gave her the nickname that stuck with her the rest of her life. Equally obvious in its etymology, her younger brother, Seymour, was known as "Babe." There were actually two Seymour Feinsteins known as Babe, first cousins to one another, both youngest childs.

A related topic are nicknames that are derived from the given name, but in a manner that isn't immediately obvious. I went into detail on this in my post on Jewish Mysticism and Genealogy.

One ancestor was named Zvi Dudelsack. He never immigrated to America, but his children passed his name down as "Harry". Another ancestor was named Zev Perlik, and some of his descendants knew him as "William." You have to be multilingual to follow the etymology, but if the Royal Family were Jewish, it would not be surprising if Prince Harry and Prince William had the Hebrew names of Zvi and Zev.

Arugula Lego Metallica Andresson

Naming restrictions in Sweden have been relaxed. While religious names [Gud, Allah, Fan (Devil)] are still forbidden, as are gender-based names for the wrong gender, it is now permitted to name a child (or change your name as an adult) after any member of the plant kingdom, or after a rock band, or corporate name, as long as they wouldn't otherwise cause offense. (So you can't name yourself after a condom manufacturer)

I suspect, though, a girl named Arugula Lego Metallica Andresson might choose the nickname Alma.