Jewish Names of Pets

Sarah Bunin Benor

About This Entry

In a 2019 survey of American Jews who have owned pets (Benor and Chandler 2020), about 35 percent report that one or more of their pets has had a name they consider Jewish. This chart is a categorization of the names they reported, with examples from several languages—English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic, and Ladino. These names demonstrate some things Jews value, including biblical and rabbinic texts, Jewish holidays, historical figures, cultural references, and food and language from pre-migration cultures.

Source / category

Examples

Personal name (incl. human or pet honoree)

Abby, Rachamim

Biblical or rabbinic literature

Akiva (Aramaic: ancient rabbi), Genesis (English: first book of the Torah)

Characteristic or circumstance

Gingy (Hebrew: red-head), Shmutzik (Yiddish: dirty)

Jewish-identified food

Bamba (Hebrew: Israeli snack food), Boreka (Ladino: savory filled pastry)

Animal name

Ketzel (Yiddish: kitty), Tuki (Hebrew: parrot)

Jewish religiosity

Mitzvah (Hebrew/Yiddish: good deed, commandment), Shtreimel (Yiddish: Hasidic fur hat)

Holiday/season of adoption

Afikomen (Hebrew/Greek: Passover ceremonial matzah piece), Latke (Yiddish: potato pancake)

Historical figure or current celebrity

Bar-Kochba (Aramaic: 2nd-century Jewish military leader), Bernie (English: Senator Sanders)

Term of endearment

Motek (Hebrew: sweety), Shayna Punim (Yiddish: pretty face)

Israel

Sababa (Hebrew: cool), Zelda (Hebrew: Israeli poet)

Literary or cultural reference

K’tonton (Hebrew: children’s book), Purrchik (Yiddish/English: Fiddler on the Roof character)

Credits

Sarah Bunin Benor, Jewish Names of Pets. Used with permission of the author.

Discussion Questions

  1. Why do you think some Jews give their pets names with explicit or coded Jewish references? What moments of connection and education could this practice lead to?

  2. Do you know of examples of community-specific pet names in other groups, such as Mexican Americans or Korean Americans?

  3. What can we learn from this list about aspects of Jewish religiosity, culture, and history that are important to some Jews?

Engage with this Source

In a 2019 survey of American Jews who have owned pets (Benor and Chandler 2020), about 35 percent report that one or more of their pets has had a name they consider Jewish. This chart is a categorization of the names they reported, with examples from several languages—English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic, and Ladino. These names demonstrate some things Jews value, including biblical and rabbinic texts, Jewish holidays, historical figures, cultural references, and food and language from pre-migration cultures.

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