Have you ever wondered how we decided on our deeply ingrained customs for naming children?

If you grew up in an Ashkenazi household, you probably take it for granted that you name a baby after a beloved relative who has passed away. It’s so widespread today that many people assume it goes all the way back to Avraham, Sarah, and the rest of our biblical ancestors.

But as it turns out, history tells a much more complicated—and fascinating—story.

If you flip through the Tanach, there is virtually no evidence that Jews named their children after deceased relatives. Instead, biblical names were usually chosen for their literal meaning or the specific circumstances of the birth.

Yitzchak got his name because Sarah laughed (tzachak) when she heard she would give birth in her old age.

Yaakov was named because he came out gripping the heel (akev) of his twin brother, Eisav.

Occasionally, names reappeared across generations, but there was no formal pattern. Avraham and Sarah didn’t name Yitzchak after an ancestor, and Yitzchak and Rivkah didn’t name Yaakov after Grandpa Avraham.

So, when did things change? We first start seeing hints of modern naming conventions toward the end of the Second Temple period. The famous Hasmonean family, for instance, repeatedly reused the classic Maccabees names—Mattathias, Simon, Judah, and Jonathan—across generations. By the time the........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)