GEN1394 Alone among God’s creatures, we humans underline our individuality by naming each other and ourselves. Each of us has a multitude of names. Some change with our age and status, so we started out as “baby” or “little one;” progress to “sissy” or “bro;” then answer to “sweetheart,” “darling,” “mommy,” “auntie,” or “dada;” and if we are truly blessed, make it to “Nana” or “Grandpa.” But we bristle if we hear the cruel “Uncle Tom” or “kike”—for these names foster an evil stereotyping, perpetuating ignorance and hatred, defaming the speaker as much as the person at whom they are hurled. More than 200 years ago, Jews living in Europe’s sprawling Hapsburg Empire were forced to take surnames by governmental fiat. Obviously the easiest thing to do was to maintain the Jewish custom of being known by the name of one’s father, so Isaac Ben Abraham became Isaac Abrahamson or Abramson. Jews could also take names that are common descriptives, which is why so many of us are named for the German words for black (“Schwartz”), white (“Weiss”), small (“Klein”), or large (“Gross”).   Or our great-great-great-great-grandfathers took their craft as their last name-hence “Silver,” “Gold,”   or “Diamond;” or more humbly “Schneider” (tailor), “Shuster” (shoemaker), or “Schachter” (shohet-ritual slaughter). Or they simply adapted to the name of the town that they lived in, so many of us answer to “Frankfurther” or “Warshow.” All these names tell us little about the character of those who hold them. A name becomes a “good name,” a shem tov, in the Jewish community when good deeds accompany it. Thus our first names or our Hebrew names may honor the memory of a well-loved relation, conveying the hope that we, as namesakes, will similarly live honorably. Jews by choice often take “Abraham” or “Sarah” as their Hebrew name, understanding that our first patriarch and matriarch where the first persons to heed God’s calling. Because of this, they became the ancestral fathers and mothers of all Jews.   Many Hebrew proper names recall an event. For example, the Torah tells us that “Israel” means “wrestling with God” and was the new name Jacob won from the angel he fought all night [this verse]. But it is our deeds that ultimately “name” us, for good or for ill. As R. Yose b. Hanina noted: People’s names fall into four classifications: some have fair names but have done foul deeds; others have ugly names but have done good deeds; some have ugly names to which their deeds correspond; and others have a good deeds to match their lovely names” Genesis Rabbah 71.3.   BOROJMV 228-9