Question: If one’s name must be changed for whatever reason, may the original name be changed completely or should one merely add another name to the original one?
Answer: The verse in Parashat Bereshit states, “And whatever the man called any living soul is its name (forever).” We have a tradition based on the teachings of the saintly Ari z”l that every individual receives his vitality and spirit from the roots of the letters of his name, for every letter impacts the individual.
For this reason, Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l writes in the name of several Poskim that one should not completely uproot one’s original name, whether one’s name is being changed because one has the same name as one’s future father-in-law in which case many people have the custom to change the groom’s name so that it not be the same as the bride’s father’s name (in keeping with the will of Rabbeinu Yehuda Ha’Chassid who writes that when the groom and his father-in-law have the same name, this poses a danger) or because of an illness, G-d-forbid.
The reason for this is based on what we have explained above that one’s vitality comes from one’s name; thus, we must be concerned that the second name we are about to establish for this individual is perhaps not the source of this individuals spirit and this new name will not grant him long life. It is therefore customary not to completely remove the original name; rather, a second name is merely added onto the original name. For instance, if one’s name was “Yosef,” a name is added and he will be called “Chaim Yosef.” (Note: When a name is added due to an illness, the new name will always precede the existing name and not the reverse, as is the case with the example we have used, i.e. “Yosef” being the original name and “Chaim Yosef” being the new name, not “Yosef Chaim.”)
However, if the individual is called by the name of a wicked person, such as “Nimrod” and the like, one may, in fact, completely change his name and not leave any remnant of his original name. On the contrary, this is what should be done preferably.
Indeed, once a person named “Omri” (Omri was a wicked king who ruled over Israel regarding whom the verse (Kings II Chapter 16) states, “And Omri acted wickedly in the eyes of Hashem; he was more wicked than all those who preceded him) once came to Maran zt”l inquiring whether or not he should change his name. Maran zt”l instructed him to change his name completely and leave no remnant of his original name.
We must point out that the issue of names is not a simple one. Although the vast majority of Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l’s rulings follow the revealed portion of the Torah and he rarely entered the mystical realm of the Torah, he nevertheless was quite stringent regarding this matter that parents should not call their children strange names or names of wicked people.
It has happened several times when people come to circumcise their children while bestowing Maran zt”l with the honor of acting as Sandak and when Maran zt”l reached the point where the father must name his newborn son and heard that the father wished to call the child an unworthy name, he would pause and advise the father to call the child by a different name. Sometimes this was due to the fact that the name was inappropriate according to the Torah and other times because the name would cause the child shame or unpleasantness in the future.
Once, when Maran zt”l reached the place intended for the father of the baby to announce the name, the father exclaimed that he wished to call his son “Chafetz Chaim.” Maran zt”l pointed out to the father that “Chafetz Chaim” was the title of a book and not the name of a person and thus advised the father to find another name. The father heeded the advice.
Another incident once occurred when the father of a newborn baby girl arrived for Shacharit prayers in Maran’s synagogue and notified those in charge that he was the father of a new baby girl and that he wished for Maran zt”l to perform the naming ceremony when he received an Aliyah to the Torah.
When the father received his Aliyah, the father wished to call his daughter by the name of a certain kind of fish. Maran zt”l told him that this was not a girl’s name. The father insisted that he was of Tunisian descent and their custom was to name their children after fish as a Segula (omen) against the Evil Eye. Maran zt”l continued to persuade him calmly and finally, the man called his daughter “Sarah,” almost by force.
At the conclusion of the prayer services, the man was upset that Maran zt”l had talked him into naming his daughter something other than what he had originally intended. Maran zt”l called him over and told him, “When your daughter grows up, tell her what you wished to name her and then tell her that I saved her and made sure she had a nice name.”
One should preferably not be involved with the subject of name changing without the guidance of a true and G-d-fearing Torah scholar.
