Ask the Rabbi
- Family and Society
- The Jewish Household
- Names and Name Changing
Question
Dear rabbi,
I named my daughter Toby, and i am getting conflicting answers as to how i should spell it in hebrew, please enlighten me on this issue
thank you
Answer
Toby is not a Hebrew name and if written טובי would be pronounced Tovi or Tuvi. A similar Hebrew name would be Tova - טובה. There was a Yiddish name Taube- טויבא or טאובא that meant “dove” or in Hebrew- Yonah. If Toby is based on “dove” you could write the name טאובי or טויבי (Pitchei Teshuva Even HaEzer Women’s Names).

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