Hebrew for Marvin

[Neil Kominsky]

Though people seem loath to accept it, there is no one-to-one
correspondence between Hebrew names and English names except for those
that originated in Hebrew. What most often (though not always) happens
is that a name is chosen with the same initial sound, as a reminder in
both Hebrew and English. Thus, I am Neil because my parents, naming me
in Hebrew for my ggf Natan sought a more "American" sounding name than
Nathan. My father, Marvin, happens to be Michael in Hebrew, but Marvin
could just as easily be used to represent Moses or Mordechai. Even a
clearly biblical name is no guarantee; my gf Sam turned out to be Zelig
when we went to plan the funeral (yes, I know it's Yiddish and not
Hebrew, but East European Jews did that a lot.)
Sometimes in recent generations, there is no obvious correspondence at
all, and Hebrew and English names are independently given: "We're naming
him for my gf Shloyme, Rabbi, but in English, it will be Kevin." don't
ask.
There is also a fascinating pattern of generational cohorts in the
choice of "equivalent" names. Thus all the Sarahs of the immigrant
generation became Shirleys in generation 2, Susans in generation 3, and,
in generation 4: Sarah! We Jews are a people with a long, if spotty,
memory.
(Rabbi) Neil Kominsky

-=-
REMINDER: Last call - signup to: C-201 Jewish Genealogy in the U.S.
To: list...@jewishgen.org
sub c-201
-=-