Question:
Hi,
My father z’l was niftar and obviously we’d want to name a future child after him Bezh. However my wife’s father shares the same name as my father. They’re both named just Yosef. In the event that we have a boy iyh would there be an issue naming the baby Yosef and specifying that’s it’s after my father in addition to adding a middle name that neither of them had?
Thanks!
Answer:
Hello,
Being that the Ashkenazi minhag is not to give a name after a person who is still alive. Stating that the name is for the other parent, is also an insult to the live parent, as he now knows that he will not be given a name by this family. According to some poskim this is even if you will add a name. What you can do is give the child a name such as Nachman, or Menachem, or Nechama for a girl. It is written that after the passing of a relative, when a boy is born to the family it is a sort of “healing for the family, (as we now see that life will continue and strive), therefore you might find it appropriate to give such a name.
Sources:
שמות בארץ עמ' פ"ו הערה 43, והיוצא מזה שודאי אינו לכתחילה לתת שם לתינוק כל זמן שיש סבא שהוא חי עם השם הזה.
