December 8, 2024

By: Nomi Kaltmann as seen in The Age

I’m currently heavily pregnant and due to give birth in a few weeks.  I don’t know if I’m having a baby boy or girl, so I have made a shortlist of names to pick from.

While I have not yet decided on a name, I’ll tell you what name I won’t be giving my child: one that is too exotic or too hard to pronounce. My full name is Rochel Nomi Kaltmann. I’m sure you read Rochel as Rochelle, but alas, no, that is not in fact my name, rather please make a guttural “ch” sound, as if you are pulling up a large piece of phlegm from your throat and you have now correctly pronounced the Yiddish version of the name Rachel, my legal first name. I love my name, but I hate that it is hard to pronounce. 

In Judaism, names carry special symbolism. The essence of a person can be revealed in their name and in Ashkenazic Jewish tradition it is common to name after holy people (male or female) as well as deceased relatives. Baby girls are named when there is Torah reading in the Synagogue, so on a Monday, Thursday or Saturday. Baby boys are named at their circumcisions, at 8 days old.

When you name a child, there is a belief that as a parent you are given Divine insight to choose the right name, one that will imbue them with the qualities that they will possess for the duration of their life on earth. In Judaism, your name will be used constantly. Men are called up to the Torah by their first name and their father’s name and when someone is sick, we pray for them using their Jewish name. Likewise, if someone becomes critically ill, or has terrible luck in their life, it is common to add an extra name that symbolises healing or hope for a new beginning.

As we end 2024, I’ve been reflecting on the kind of future I want for my child. I want my child to grow up in an Australia where they can wear their identity with pride and without fear—where they can walk into any classroom, university or workplace, with a traditional Jewish name, and be proud of their Jewish heritage and feel safe. But incidents like the arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue leaves me questioning whether that dream is slipping away. Naming a child is an act of hope and legacy, but it also feels like an act of defiance in times like these.

I still have a few weeks to settle on the right name, but this time, I feel the weight of it even more. As I prepare to welcome a new soul into our family, I’m reminded of the unique power that comes with naming. It’s an act of legacy, an intention, a hope. And most of all, I pray for insight into the right name for my child to be!