There is a spiritual connection between the name of an individual and his soul. A soul's essence is Divine and a person's name defines this essence. In certain Sephardic communities — Jews from Spain, the Orient, the Middle East including those that never left the Land of Israel — it is considered auspicious for long life for a father to name a child after himself or the grandfathers. For those Jews who come from Europe, it is the generally accepted Ashkenazic custom not to name children after living peoples.

There are many Hebrew names that are seconded by Yiddish names, such as Aryeh Leib, Tzvi Hirsch and Zev Wolf, to name a few. Sometimes the Yiddish is a translation of the Hebrew and some are transliteration of the Hebrew into Yiddish such as Aizik from Yitzchak. The custom of giving a Yiddish name comes from two sources, one religious and one secular. In many of our sacred writings we read that Hebrew, the Holy Tongue, should only be used for prayer or study and a vernacular for everyday speech. This was extended, apparently, to the daily use of Hebrew names. The second source is historical. In Europe the Jews attempted to assimilate into their society, similar to here in the United States.

They found the use of Yiddish names, which could be very similar to German names, easier to use in society. During many periods of time, Yiddish names could often hide a Jewish origin. The use of Yiddish names became common, to the point that many European Jews were given only Yiddish names. In Sephardic communities, where Ladino and not Yiddish was the language of the Jews, the custom was to give one Hebrew and one Ladino name, such as Michael Miguel. Still, never in the Sephardic tradition was the Hebrew name ever dropped as it was for so many Ashkenazic Jews.

At a Brit Milah, a boy receives his Hebrew name or in the case of a girl during an aliyah to the Torah by the father. Like the Jews of Europe, it is common for American Jews to give their children English names, as well. The English of today, is the Yiddish of Europe. One would not consider giving the child only an English name, instead of a Hebrew name, and I think one should not give only a Yiddish name for a Hebrew name, as Jews erroneously did in Europe.

To help you in choosing an appropriate religious name for a child, remember the following. There is no connection between a Hebrew name and an English name, unless the English is a direct transition from the Hebrew, such as Moshe and Moses. The Hebrew name does not have to begin with the same sounding letter or vowel sounds. If your child's English name is not derived directly from a Hebrew name, feel free to choose the Hebrew name based on any criteria you like.