Name Change and Marriage

Many years we named our daughter Sima Devora as her Hebrew name, and Sharon in English. She has been using Sharon since 6 or 7 years old as her Hebrew name. She is now about to get married and we have a bit of a problem. Most everyone thinks her Hebrew name is Sharon. Is it possible to add the name Sharon to her Hebrew name? I once heard that if you use a name it somehow becomes part of the Hebrew name. Thank you.

Firstly, Mazal Tov! May your daughter and her fiancé merit to build a Bayit Ne'eman b'Yisrael – a beautiful Jewish home – and may God bless them with many, many years of health, contentment and continued growth together.

In theory the name Sharon can be added to her Hebrew name although I am not sure that I would recommend it. The Sages teach that when parents give their child a name they do so with a dimension of Divine Inspiration. That means that your daughter's original name, Sima Devora, has a special element to it and, perhaps, it might be preferable to leave things as they are with Sima Devora being her (unused) Hebrew name and everyone calling her Sharon. If your daughter feels that she wants to add the name Sharon to her Hebrew name she can do so - she does not really have to do anything formally as that is how most people know her anyway. The only thing that must be sorted out is whether the name Sharon should appear in the Ketubah together with her Hebrew names Sima Devora. That is something that the officiating Rabbi will have to decide as there are potential issues that could invalidate the Ketubah (and the marriage itself) if the name is incorrect.