The Importance of a Name (or, What's in a Name, Part II')


I wrote last year about my new baby grandson and the name that my son and daughter-in-law chose for him after great deliberation and research.

This new baby grandchild in Yerushalayim waited until very close to Shabbat before her parents had made a final decision on her name, which heretofore on this blog will be Tiddly (her Aunt Toodles was flying high: she was sure that her brother named her new little niece after her.) I was pondering the significance of Tiddly’s name, not recognizing it as a name from the TaNaCH. It sounded like “the dew of G-d” to me (והמבין יבין ), and I was trying to get my head around it, when I found this very interesting spiritual explanation of the name, and liked it so much, decided to post about it.


First of all, let me say that we believe that a person's name is very important; it is already decided "in Heaven" what a child's name will be, even before conception, and the parents are given Divine insight in choosing the correct name, although they still have free will to choose. Raising children is one of the, if not the most important task a person can do in his or her life. It is not to be taken lightly; so too, should naming a baby be taken seriously as well.

This dvar is from Rav Uzi'el Eliyahu and was written in Tevet of 5764 (2003). He wrote that Tiddly is a beautiful, good name. The Dew of G-d, it refers to the hidden power that exists in Creation. For example, we see the rain when it falls--but not the dew: it is as if it is hidden. It has an inner power to revive, and to give strength and happiness of life forever. This is a strength that is needed by all, even the wealthy. Everyone yearns for the coming of the Dew, which gives life and gladness to all living things.


Each name has a special numerical value (the study of numerology) or "gematria," and it is said that each and every name has its own "pasuk" (verse) which expresses its hidden meaning. A great tool for figuring out gematria and finding relevant verses can be found on the wonderful Ohr Chadash website. The gematria of "Tiddly" is 54. One verse which has a word with the gematria of 54 is in Tehillim (Psalms) 46:13.

I personally like the verse after it, containing כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה , which can roughly translate to "the honor [dignity] of a princess is within." My son, Nathaniel Blumenstein has told me that Tiddly is already a very different type of infant than was her brother, Googles. Whereas he was wrinkly as a prune, fidgety and fussy and couldn't be put down for an instant, his new little sister is quieter and seems gentler, and sometimes she can fall asleep by herself. My son said, she is (he couldn't remember the English translation for this) "adinah." "Adinah" means delicate, or fine; he said that she's definitely a feminine baby.

May my new granddaughter Tiddly have a long and blessed life, and may she fulfill the purpose that G-d has given her, Amen, Ken Yehi Ratzon. . .

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