From Rachel and David to Maya and Ezra: Trends in American Jewish Personal Names - event, 9-11-22
Channel: Jewish Language Project
Date: 2022-09-11

This panel explores the results of a new study of American Jewish Personal Names, based on a survey with over 11,000 responses. Which names do Jews and non-Jews associate most with Jews? How do Jews of different ages, ancestries, and religious orientations vary in the names they select for their children and their pets? How have American Jews’ names changed over time? Who names their children after living honorees, and who has a “Starbucks name”? At this event, the researchers present their findings, followed by commentary from experts on names and American Jewish culture.

Presenters:
Sarah Bunin Benor, Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies and Linguistics, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion

Alicia B. Chandler, PhD Student in Sociology, Wayne State University

Authors of “American Jewish Personal Names: Results from a National Survey”

Respondents:

Rachel B. Gross, Associate Professor of American Jewish Studies, San Francisco State University, author of Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice

Aaron Demsky, Professor Emeritus of Biblical History, Bar Ilan University, author of These Are the Names - Studies in Jewish Onomastics

Laura Wattenberg, Name Expert and Entrepreneur, author of The Baby Name Wizard

Event Co-sponsors: HUC-JIR Jewish Language Project, Judaism Unbound, Kveller, The Sholem Aleichem Institute, and Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry (ASSJ)