My husband’s uncle died young with no children, and we really wanted to name our first son after him. Growing up, my husband had called him “Uncle Donald,” but his full name was Nosson Doniel. He died suddenly, while in another country, and we felt that giving our child his name would pass on his legacy as a fun-loving uncle who was great with his nieces and nephews.
The one thing was that we were nervous about how my husband’s grandmother (Uncle Donald’s mother) would react to hearing the name. We brought it up gently beforehand, and she started crying and hugging us, and said that she would be so happy if her son’s name could be passed on.
We added on the name Yehuda, since it’s traditional for a name to be added on if you’re naming for a person who has died young. Yehuda means “thanks,” and we were so thankful that we had been given the wonderful gift of a son.
By Keren Perles
BabyChatter Contributor
