I've heard you need to choose a Hebrew name when converting to Judaism?

What is the concept behind it? And what is the Hebrew name used for afterwards?

I've heard you need to choose a Hebrew name when converting to Judaism?
From the Jewish Community center in Chandler, AZ (US), some pearls of wisdom to add to what is already here:





Our secular name is used everyday, while the Hebrew name is generally reserved for religious purposes, such as calls to the Torah (Aliyah) and memorial prayers (Kaddish), and for legal documents, such as the ketubah (or marriage contract).


In addition (and this was news to me!), some folks believe that a child's name can have a great influence on who he or she becomes in later life. Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah teach that a person's name expresses their inner essence.


It is indeed (as was mentioned previously) a tradition among Sephardis to name a child after a living relative (or least not a problem), while Ashkenazis will not. In fact, Ashkenazi superstition held that the Angel of Death may take the child instead of the older family member!


I, myself, was named after two relatives for my Hebrew name while my secular name was chosen because it was Biblical. The two can be totally separate, which can lead to some confusion; some folks call me my secular name in Hebrew., not understanding that my given Hebrew name and given secular name are totally different.





Hope all these answers clears this up!
Reply:Names are very important in Judaism; it's believed that if a Jewish person doesn't like their Hebrew name then the parents made an error. It's important that the person then finds their 'true' Hebrew name.





The basic idea: every Jewish person has a Hebrew name designated by G-d.





Those who convert will be advised by their Rabbi regarding choosing a Hebrew name. Different groups of Jews have some slightly different customs, for example:





Ashkenasi Jews consider it bad luck to name a child after a relative who is still alive - but Sephardi Jews don't view it as bad luck and so will do it.
Reply:To add to what p_w said: Your Hebrew name is used any time you are referred to in, for example, a service. If you're called to the Torah for a blessing, your Hebrew name is used. Similarly, when you die, your Hebrew name is used in the prayers at that time.





In general conversation you would not be called by your Hebrew name. In addition, a full Hebrew name is your name and the name of your father; thus, mine is Yaacov ben Tzvi, or Jacob son of Tzvi. For Jews by choice, who don't have Jewish parents, your name would be given as X ben/bat Avraham Avinu (X, son/daughter of Abraham our father). However, many Jews by choice reject this, since it permanently "labels" them as such; instead they may choose a Hebraicized version of their parent's names.
Reply:Someone I know took me by surprise. When she got Israeli citizenship, she did it with a Hebrew name she'd picked, instead of her american or birth-given hebrew name that was really yiddish. When in Israel she goes by that name %26amp; no one knows her american one. When in US she goes by her american name. It certainly has meaning and been a part of connecting to her new citizenship for her. But as someone close to her, and she being in her 60's doing this - it was strange to have someone change names on me.





The other answers did an excellent of answering for Judaism.