Help changing "boy's name" to "girl's name"

Jamaicanlove01 · January 2016

Hi!

I haven't been in these boards in over 6 years since I had our first daughter. Good to be back! We are expecting our LO in June and really thought it was a boy. After my panorama testing it was revealed that I was having a healthy baby girl. My husband and I always knew we wanted two children so this is it for us. The problem is that we've had our son's name picked out for over 10 years and now would really love to incorporate it into our daughter's first name. Help me change the name "Judah" into a more feminine form please. Maybe by adding a syllable to the of it? I want it to still sound like the word Judah is in it using the same letter and pronunciation therefore not considering names like Judith etc. Would be great to add something to the end vs beginning as our 1st daughter's name also begins with the letter "J". Would love to hear some options. Thanks!

ElRuby · January 2016

magsugar13 said:

Judahlynn
judahann
judahessa
judahissa
judahley
judahlee

You forgot Judaha

carajeanp37 · February 2016

I like Josie or Jane. Not quite Judah or Judith but similar meanings and feminine.

theGDpaterfamilias · January 2016

Judith seems to me the best option without getting into made up names.

Can I, however, implore you to reconsider this naming strategy? It very much comes off as (and sounds like the facts) "we wanted a boy but instead we had you." I can't imagine having to explain to others, as a woman, that you were the son your parents dreamed of having for 10 years. Very much feels like a disappointment. You're having a beautiful, healthy baby girl! Celebrate that! Put aside this son you've been dreaming of because she deserves her own identity.

Just my $.02

KaLikeAWind · January 2016

Jamaicanlove01 said:

Hi!
I haven't been in these boards in over 6 years since I had our first daughter. Good to be back! We are expecting our LO in June and really thought it was a boy. After my panorama testing it was revealed that I was having a healthy baby girl. My husband and I always knew we wanted two children so this is it for us. The problem is that we've had our son's name picked out for over 10 years and now would really love to incorporate it into our daughter's first name. Help me change the name "Judah" into a more feminine form please. Maybe by adding a syllable to the of it? I want it to still sound like the word Judah is in it using the same letter and pronunciation therefore not considering names like Judith etc. Would be great to add something to the end vs beginning as our 1st daughter's name also begins with the letter "J". Would love to hear some options. Thanks!

"Sorry, we really wanted a son, but we had you instead. Tough luck, kid."

Give this girl her own strong, feminine name. Don't give her a boy's name. She deserves better than that

Jamaicanlove01 · January 2016

Let me further clarify. We are Christians and want our children's names to be Biblical. The word Judah means praise. We are not disappointed we are having a girl at all. Just wanted to use the name because of the meaning, religious significance etc.

magsugar13 · January 2016

julia

Jamaicanlove01 · January 2016

See my clarification above. We are NOT disappointed we are having a girl smh. Thanks to all who have actually made name suggestions.

KaLikeAWind · January 2016

Well, whaddaya know?

"Judith (Hebrew) - Gen 26:34 - the praise of the Lord, confession"

From www.little-disciples.com

ETA ^^ the first result when I googled 'girl names meaning praise'

ElRuby · January 2016

Faith?

g8trkim · January 2016

theGDpaterfamilias said:

Judith seems to me the best option without getting into made up names.

Can I, however, implore you to reconsider this naming strategy? It very much comes off as (and sounds like the facts) "we wanted a boy but instead we had you." I can't imagine having to explain to others, as a woman, that you were the son your parents dreamed of having for 10 years. Very much feels like a disappointment. You're having a beautiful, healthy baby girl! Celebrate that! Put aside this son you've been dreaming of because she deserves her own identity.

Just my $.02

Took the words out of my mouth. Give this little girl her own name. There are a ton of female biblical names (way too many to list). I would research those.

bbiutmcph · January 2016

Jamaicanlove01 said:

Hi!
I haven't been in these boards in over 6 years since I had our first daughter. Good to be back! We are expecting our LO in June and really thought it was a boy. After my panorama testing it was revealed that I was having a healthy baby girl. My husband and I always knew we wanted two children so this is it for us. The problem is that we've had our son's name picked out for over 10 years and now would really love to incorporate it into our daughter's first name. Help me change the name "Judah" into a more feminine form please. Maybe by adding a syllable to the of it? I want it to still sound like the word Judah is in it using the same letter and pronunciation therefore not considering names like Judith etc. Would be great to add something to the end vs beginning as our 1st daughter's name also begins with the letter "J". Would love to hear some options. Thanks!

THere is no way to change Judah without changing it to something Julia, Judith etc to make if feminine. Adding a syllable will not make it a name that means the same as Judah does. It will make it a cre8tive made up name with no true meaning. Judah is a masculine name. There are plenty of other names that are religious and mean great things that are feminine.

missemmawoodhouse · January 2016

Angela - "Angel"
Hannah, Anna, Joanna - "Favor" or "Grace"
Ariel - "Lion of God"
Elizabeth - "My God is an oath"
Naomi - "Pleasantness"
Phoebe - "Bright" "pure"
Sarah - "Princess"

doodleoodle · January 2016

I have a friend named Judessa. I've always thought it was a nice name.

Rshapiro86 · January 2016

My DS is Judah. I love his name and the meaning so I understand you wanting to encorporate it somehow. We're Jewish and pretty religious so I understand where you're coming from.

I know you already said you didn't want to use Judith, but this is about as close as you're going to get without making up a name IMO. We call our DS Jude a lot as a nn, so you could always name her Judith and call her Jude.

virginiaunicorn11 · January 2016

Jordana - the female form of the river Jordan, where Jesus was baptized

magsugar13 · January 2016

Judahlynn
judahann
judahessa
judahissa
judahley
judahlee

Bringmemylongswordho · January 2016

So, my own 2 cents.

My bio dad always wanted a son named Shane. I came out instead. So, you could probably guess what my name is, even though the two names are fairly unrelated.

Now then, aside from it being spelled wrong for its pronunciation, I like my name. But it does stand as a but of a reminder that my dad was such an asshole about everything surrounding my birth that Mom gave me this name to shut him up.

Judah is a great masculine name. Judith is a great feminine name. And besides, Judith beheading Holofrenes would be such a cool story to hear about while growing up.

beaarthur4 · January 2016

If you add a syllable onto Judah, it's a new name that means nothing.

saham07 · January 2016

Jamaicanlove01 said:

See my clarification above. We are NOT disappointed we are having a girl smh. Thanks to all who have actually made name suggestions.

I understand that you are not disappointed that you are having another daughter, but this board is so great because you can see what people are thinking. Many people have said that they would assume that you wanted a boy .Whether or not this is true........this is what people are thinking. I dont think that there is any way around it.

Judy
Juliette
Josephine
Jennifer
Jacqueline
Jane

momma2char · January 2016

Many "boy" names can be used as girls names... Jordan is a biblical name that can be used as a name for either gender, if you would like to stick with a name that begins with J, and it is similar to Judah. I wouldn't use Judah for a girl, but that's my opinion. Josie (meaning God will increase in Hebrew) is a beautiful biblical name, also beginning with J. Another name suggestion if you would like a meaningful biblical name is Farrah (meaning joy) or Adah (my daughters middle name which is also biblical, and similar to Judah, and it is Hebrew meaning beautiful)

Bringmemylongswordho · January 2016

kirstienlowell said:

Many "boy" names can be used as girls names... Jordan is a biblical name that can be used as a name for either gender, if you would like to stick with a name that begins with J, and it is similar to Judah. I wouldn't use Judah for a girl, but that's my opinion. Josie (meaning God will increase in Hebrew) is a beautiful biblical name, also beginning with J. Another name suggestion if you would like a meaningful biblical name is Farrah (meaning joy) or Adah (my daughters middle name which is also biblical, and similar to Judah, and it is Hebrew meaning beautiful)

Sure. Come back when you name your son Shoshanna.

keri0426 · February 2016

What about Jada?

groovylocks · February 2016

I personally don't like gender hopping names but I kind of feel like you might be able to get away with Juda for a girl... i'm on the fence with this and if asked, would recommend against it but it's not terrible.

However, you have Jada/Jayda, Judy, Juno, Julie or Jude... These are all pretty cool names. My little would have been a Juno if my husband didn't hate it.

momma2char · February 2016

@Bringmemylongswordho - Excuse my ignorance but I'm not sure why you got so hung up on my comment. The original poster wanted to hear some options on naming her daughter so I gave her some options to consider. Your sarcasm, while entertaining, likely won't help OP with what she asked

@Jamaicanlove01 - Have you thought about using Judah/Jude as a middle name, if you're having second thoughts on using it as a first name? I know of a girl named Madison James and although James is very masculine, I think it's actually quite nice and it suits her well! I also really like @keri0426 suggestion of Jada! It looks like you really like the name Judah though and if that's what you want to choose, then you should go for it! It's your child, it's a beautiful name and it has a great meaning

Bringmemylongswordho · February 2016

kirstienlowell said:

@Bringmemylongswordho - Excuse my ignorance but I'm not sure why you got so hung up on my comment. The original poster wanted to hear some options on naming her daughter so I gave her some options to consider. Your sarcasm, while entertaining, likely won't help OP with what she asked

@Jamaicanlove01 - Have you thought about using Judah/Jude as a middle name, if you're having second thoughts on using it as a first name? I know of a girl named Madison James and although James is very masculine, I think it's actually quite nice and it suits her well! I also really like @keri0426 suggestion of Jada! It looks like you really like the name Judah though and if that's what you want to choose, then you should go for it! It's your child, it's a beautiful name and it has a great meaning

I'm hung up on it because it is super messed up that we as a society value women so little that we think nothing of giving them masculine names yet worry our sons with the same names might be considered weak for having the same name as a girl.

I want my daughters to grow up in a world where femininity and masculinity are equal, not one where we give our daughters masculine names because that's "strong". Judith is just as strong as Judah. There is no reason to give a girl a "boy" name, unless you are equally willing to give a boy a "girl" name.

momma2char · February 2016

@Bringmemylongswordho - that's not what I was implying at all! I re-read my comment and it does look like I was. I know of quite a few males with feminine names as well- a Misha, Sasha and Dana and I think it's awesome! All were star athletes in college and are successful businessmen now. I agree in that I want my daughter to grow up in a world that femininity and masculinity are equal- If she wants to name her daughter Judah though I don't see how that's anybody's problem. She isn't naming her daughter Judah to shame femininity in any way- she loves the meaning of the name. Although yes, the name Judith is equally as strong, her original post states she is not considering the name Judith which again, is not shaming femininity, she simply has loved the name Judah for 10 years!

Bringmemylongswordho · February 2016

kirstienlowell said:

@Bringmemylongswordho - that's not what I was implying at all! I re-read my comment and it does look like I was. I know of quite a few males with feminine names as well- a Misha, Sasha and Dana and I think it's awesome! All were star athletes in college and are successful businessmen now. I agree in that I want my daughter to grow up in a world that femininity and masculinity are equal- If she wants to name her daughter Judah though I don't see how that's anybody's problem. She isn't naming her daughter Judah to shame femininity in any way- she loves the meaning of the name. Although yes, the name Judith is equally as strong, her original post states she is not considering the name Judith which again, is not shaming femininity, she simply has loved the name Judah for 10 years!

Yeah, but I highly doubt if she loved the name Judith she'd be asking if that was okay for a boy. On an individual level it isn't a problem, on a cultural level though, history has shown once a masculine name reaches parity or greater usage for girls, it culturally becomes a "feminine " name, usage for boys drops significantly if not completely. Ashley, Addison, Madison, Kelly and Shannon have already done this. Our parents generation had Tracy. Ages ago the same thing happened to Evelyn Celeste and to an extent Maria.

The other thing, Sasha is the Russian diminutive of Alexander. Misha is the diminutive of Mikhail (Russian Michael ). Dana in English has history as a masculine name first.

Jamaicanlove01 · February 2016

Thank you for sharing your opinions. That's the beauty of these boards, sometimes we just have to agree to disagree :-). Thank you also to all who gave name suggestions.

Jamaicanlove01 · February 2016

momma2char said:

@Bringmemylongswordho - that's not what I was implying at all! I re-read my comment and it does look like I was. I know of quite a few males with feminine names as well- a Misha, Sasha and Dana and I think it's awesome! All were star athletes in college and are successful businessmen now. I agree in that I want my daughter to grow up in a world that femininity and masculinity are equal- If she wants to name her daughter Judah though I don't see how that's anybody's problem. She isn't naming her daughter Judah to shame femininity in any way- she loves the meaning of the name. Although yes, the name Judith is equally as strong, her original post states she is not considering the name Judith which again, is not shaming femininity, she simply has loved the name Judah for 10 years!

Exactly! Thanks :-)

momma2char · February 2016

Judea (Jude-ay-uh) is also beautiful!

mollie2383 · February 2016

Such a bummer that you had your heart set on that name for so long! I agree with others that you should find something new and feminine though. Here is a link to a good list:

https://nameberry.com/list/31/Cool-Bible-Baby-Names?all=1

I like Delilah

ThisisNumber3 · February 2016

I just heard Micah for a girl and think that's very sweet. Has great biblical meaning and the -ah ending is very feminine in many languages.

Knottie1442268460 · February 2016

Michal, like David's wife.

KaLikeAWind · February 2016

ThisisNumber3 said:

I just heard Micah for a girl and think that's very sweet. Has great biblical meaning and the -ah ending is very feminine in many languages.

Micah is a boys name

(Was going to include link to behind the name for Micah here, but unable to paste)