Tomorrow night (Wednesday) is the last night of Chanukah. As a final celebration, I'm anagramming shtetl names.

These are names that you might have had if you had been born into a Central or Eastern European Jewish family around a hundred years (or more) ago.

Your anagrammed shtetl name will have either "ben" (meaning "son of") or "bat" (meaning "daughter of") in it, followed by the name of your shtetl father or mother. (Traditionally, your father's name would follow your name on official documents; your mother's name would follow your name in prayers of healing for yourself.)

I'll need a scramble (for privacy) of your full name (first, middle, last), and you can use this site if you need help scrambling your letters.

If you don't have the letters b,e,n or b,a,t in your scramble, I may substitute letters for them, as in a blanagram.

Because Jewish names are written in the Hebrew alphabet, when transliterated into English the spellings may vary widely. I'll also be using a lot of medieval Yiddish and Hebrew name variants – but I'll give you the sources and meanings of the names that you receive in anagram/blanagram.

And, as a final note: Chanukah/Hanukkah/Khanuke, in addition to being the name of the holiday, was also once used as a Jewish name. Now obsolete, it was used in 14th century Austria for Jewish children born during the holiday.

-- Nephele

baiimlainltnroladsa

My father's family (and my father as well) are from Lithuania in Eastern Europe. We're pretty sure that my grandfather was Jewish, but that he renounced it, possibly due to the politics of the time and region. We know that our last name was different, and he changed it so that when he left Lithuania, they would not remove the "suffix", which they used to do.

dsieciynsahyamsdod

Thank you!
And happy Hannukkah!

donutte, thanks for the family background – very interesting! Now have a shtetl name:

Anna Lidmila bat Sroli
= baiimlainltnroladsa

Anna: derived from "Khane" (in English, "Hannah"), the biblical mother of Samuel. Meaning "gracious" in Hebrew, this was a popular name in medieval Germany.

Lidmila: borrowed from Slavic Christians and used by Jews in Bohemia, meaning "nice to people."

bat Sroli: "daughter of Sroli" – a diminutive of "Isroel" ("Israel" in English), another name of biblical Jacob which was bestowed upon him after wrestling with an angel of god.

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Hyde, Happy Chanukah to you, too!

Substituting b,t in your scramble for d,d:

Ida Chisye bat Symson
= dsieciynsahyamsbot

Ida: derived from "Yudes" ("Judith" in English), a heroine in the biblical Book of Judith. Meaning "Judean woman."

Chisye: (pronounced "KHIS-yeh; HIS-yeh") a diminutive of "Khane" (in English, "Hannah"), the biblical mother of Samuel. Meaning "gracious."

bat Symson: "daughter of Symson" – a form of "Shimshn" ("Samson" in English), the name of a biblical hero famous for his strength. The name means "little sun."

-- Nephele

Well Shit...I spelt it wrong in the Thoughts and Sharing Thread. Sorry, Nephele!

Here's my anagram:

alabsiwooherticaeeeedmkaang

or

kaaisabetericgneelaa

Thanks, Nephele. I have no idea how you do it!

Ida Chisye bat Symson...
interesting, and I love the meaning "Little Sun." It reminds me of Akhenaten who abandoned usual polytheistic beliefs to worship the sun.

My compliments of the Season to you, Nephele, and to all celebrants of Chanukah.

I suspect you're going to be doing some blanagramming here:

rrribseoomvnoialedef

Thank you!

Do you mean the name of the holiday, Midi? There are so many different ways to spell it, that you can't really be "wrong."

Kačia Naegel bat Eisera
= kaaisabetericgneelaa

Kačia: (pronounced KAH-chee-ah), a Czech form of the name "Catherine," a name taken and adapted by Jews from their Christian neighbors, possibly for the supposed meaning of "purity."

Naegel: a form of the now obsolete name "Neglin," believed to have been derived from the Middle High German word negellin, meaning "clove." (Which makes it an ideal Yiddish goth name.)

bat Eisera: "daughter of Eisera" – a form of "Itskhok" ("Isaac" in English), the name of a biblical patriarch. Meaning "he laughs."

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Minnie, you are right – you get a blanagram. Replacing "n" with "t" in your scramble, you are:

Dvoirel Rose bat Efroim
= rrribseoomvtoialedef

Dvoirel: a form of "Dvoyre" ("Deborah" in English), the name of a biblical prophetess-judge. Meaning "bee."

Rose: (pronounced ROH-seh), a diminutive of "Rokhl" ("Rachel" in English), the name of the favored biblical wife of Jacob. Meaning "ewe." Alternately, it might be derived from the name "Royze," which in turn is derived from the Middle High German word "rose" for the flower of the same name.

bat Efroim: "daughter of Efroim" – from "Efroyem" ("Ephraim" in English), the second son of the biblical Joseph. Meaning "fruitful."

-- Nephele

Gosh, thank you, Nephele - as ever! Bees, roses, fruitfulness... My shtetl identity is as warm and golden as a late spring day in Poland...

What evocative imagery! I think you'll make a fine shtetl girl.

-- Nephele

asanrloraylizulhtee
Please and thank you Miss!

Puck, you get a blanagram. Replacing the u in your scramble with a b, you are:

Rozallia bat Shneyerl
= asanrloraylizblhtee

Rozallia: derived from "Royze," which in turn is a name derived from the Middle High German word rose, the name of the flower.

bat Shneyerl: "daughter of Shneyerl" – a diminutive of "Shneyer," which is a name created by Jews from the languages of Latin (senior), French (seigneur), and Spanish (señor), meaning "senior; elder; master." This became a common Jewish name in northern France by the 13th century.

-- Nephele

eihcheaatshezuhltrtezbe

Thank you, and I hope your Chanukah was a lovely one.

DiabolusMusik, thanks for the Chanukah best wishes.

Zuzia Teheleh bat Hertsche
= eihcheaatshezuhltrtezbe

Zuzia: Czech and Polish form of "Shoshane" ("Susanna" in English), from the Hebrew word for "lily."

Teheleh: Yiddish adaptation of the medieval German name "Odilia/Otilia" meaning "wealth; fortune."

bat Hertsche: "daughter of Hertsche" – a form of "Hirsh," derived from the Middle High German word meaning "stag." This Yiddish name is a kinnui (secular name equivalent) for the Hebrew name "Naphtali." Naphtali was one of the sons of Jacob, who founded the Tribe of Naphtali (one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel). Because Jacob compared Naphtali to a deer, secular names meaning "deer" are kinnuim for the name Naphtali.

-- Nephele

Hope you had a happy Chanukah!
Here - you get to make this backsliding Jew more Jewish.

kiariclapslasno