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the middle name I was considering might be Jewish?


treepod

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I’ve been told that if I had been “born a boy” my name would have been Nathan Aser. I didn’t go with Nathan when I decided to change my name (not legally yet though) but I wanted to still go with Aser for the middle name because it’s after my great grandfather. I never knew him but my dad looked up to him a lot. 
 

However, I recently found out Aser might come from the Hebrew אָשֵׁר although google could be wrong. There is a very small amount of evidence suggesting my family could have been Jewish at one time (I won’t bore you with the details unless you really want to know), but anyhow we’re all very Catholic now and I have no intention of claiming Jewish identity. 

 

My question is, would Aser be a recognizable Jewish name? And if so, would any Jewish person be bothered by a non-Jewish person having it? Apologies if any of what I’ve said is ignorant.

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If it was in your family before I don't think any of my Jewish friends would be upset, but hopefully one or two of our Jewish members can come along and comment.  I am Episcopalian but I participate in Jewish religious activities where I show due reverence and have fun and acceptance.   It would be a problem if you were to use an Antisemitic name along with it, and if you were hateful toward Judaism, but just the name which maybe, sort of, could be Semitic should not be a problem, and your name could well come from other sources as well.  But why not be proud of your ancestors and their backgrounds even if it was Jewish.  Judaism is the root of your preferred religious practice after all.  

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Well, I'm Jewish, even if I'm not observant, and I've never heard the name, but there are hundreds, if not thousands of given names in the Old Testament.  I found a site that had this info:

Asher

Asher ăsh´ər [key] [Heb.,=happy], in the Bible, tribe of Israel. Its eponym was Jacob's eighth son. It occupied the northwestern part of ancient Palestine, and its position laid Asher open to influence from other nations and attacks by them. It seems to have become insignificant early in Jewish history. The name occurs in Egyptian inscriptions. An alternate spelling is Aser.

 

So yes, it is of Hebrew origin, and observant Jews would probably peg its origin.  Would anyone be upset if a gentile had it?  I sincerely doubt it.  We don't lay privileged claim to biblical names, or Jewish folks would be up in arms over Abraham Lincoln, Jethro Tull, or Samuel L. Jackson.  So stop worrying and have yourself a nice Reuben sandwich.  Carolyn would approve.  :D

 

Carolyn Marie

 

 
 
 
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1 hour ago, Carolyn Marie said:

We don't lay privileged claim to biblical names, or Jewish folks would be up in arms over Abraham Lincoln, Jethro Tull, or Samuel L. Jackson.

 

Good thing or my surviving brother would be in big trouble David and Jonathon  was an interesting combination my parents hung on him. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/12/2021 at 7:04 PM, VickySGV said:

If it was in your family before I don't think any of my Jewish friends would be upset, but hopefully one or two of our Jewish members can come along and comment.  I am Episcopalian but I participate in Jewish religious activities where I show due reverence and have fun and acceptance.   It would be a problem if you were to use an Antisemitic name along with it, and if you were hateful toward Judaism, but just the name which maybe, sort of, could be Semitic should not be a problem, and your name could well come from other sources as well.  But why not be proud of your ancestors and their backgrounds even if it was Jewish.  Judaism is the root of your preferred religious practice after all.  

That’s a good point, thank you. I’m actually thinking about becoming Episcopalian, since it seems familiar to what I grew up with, but maybe I’d have a better chance of finding openly trans-inclusive community than among Catholics. Anyway, I appreciate acknowledging common ground between religions. 
 

 

On 2/12/2021 at 9:40 PM, Carolyn Marie said:

Well, I'm Jewish, even if I'm not observant, and I've never heard the name, but there are hundreds, if not thousands of given names in the Old Testament.  I found a site that had this info:

Asher

Asher ăsh´ər [key] [Heb.,=happy], in the Bible, tribe of Israel. Its eponym was Jacob's eighth son. It occupied the northwestern part of ancient Palestine, and its position laid Asher open to influence from other nations and attacks by them. It seems to have become insignificant early in Jewish history. The name occurs in Egyptian inscriptions. An alternate spelling is Aser.

 

So yes, it is of Hebrew origin, and observant Jews would probably peg its origin.  Would anyone be upset if a gentile had it?  I sincerely doubt it.  We don't lay privileged claim to biblical names, or Jewish folks would be up in arms over Abraham Lincoln, Jethro Tull, or Samuel L. Jackson.  So stop worrying and have yourself a nice Reuben sandwich.  Carolyn would approve.  :D

 

Carolyn Marie

 

 
 
 

Thanks for the clarification! Also I hadn’t thought of it that way (about those other names). I just wanted to be sure I wouldn’t mislead anyone or overstep some appropriative boundary. 

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  • 1 month later...

Asher, אשר, is a common Jewish name in Israel!  I don't think anyone would mind you using it, it is the name of one of the twelve tribes in the bible. 

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