Immanuel... as a feminine name?
BtN lists Immanuel as a masculine name, however, the popularity chart for Israel recorded 192 girls with this name in 2020.
Is this an error or is Immanuel used on girls as well now?
Israeli popularity chart: https://www.behindthename.com/name/immanuel/top/israel
“Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist – while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine, I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!”
-Lori Greiner
Is this an error or is Immanuel used on girls as well now?
Israeli popularity chart: https://www.behindthename.com/name/immanuel/top/israel
“Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist – while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine, I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!”
-Lori Greiner
Replies
slayyyyyyyyy girlie pop pop offf
its masculine
its masculine
It has to be an error where the name was put on the wrong list. עמנואל is absolutely a masculine name.
I hunted down the original Excel sheet (or at least one that also contains that info) on the Israeli website: https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/doclib/2021/434/11_21_434t4.xls
And the name is there. If it's an error, it probably happened in Israel, not here on this site.
I know almost nothing about naming customs there, but I don't think I ever catched somebody publishing a name hitparade making such a mistake, i.e. putting a male name into a female list in error, in any country.
Is it really out of question that Israeli parents had a surprising idea about using that name for females in 2020?
And the name is there. If it's an error, it probably happened in Israel, not here on this site.
I know almost nothing about naming customs there, but I don't think I ever catched somebody publishing a name hitparade making such a mistake, i.e. putting a male name into a female list in error, in any country.
Is it really out of question that Israeli parents had a surprising idea about using that name for females in 2020?
Unisex names aren't rare nowadays in Israel; for example, they have Ofir, Ariel, Lior, etc... (see https://www.behindthename.com/names/gender/unisex/usage/hebrew/popularity/israel)
Since it doesn't seem to be an error, I think that Immanuel, despite being a traditional masculine name, was recently coined as feminine.
Yes, it is an outlier. But in Israel, names ending in -el do not require some suffix (like -a or -le) to be given to girls as well, and Ariel is unisex. However, the emergence of Immanuel in Israel is a surprise, because it is deeply rooted in Christian tradition and scripture. Maybe someone with better knowledge of Isreali popular culture can explain the sudden appearance of Immanuel as a name for baby girls in Israel.
--elbowin
--elbowin
Immanuel derives from a prophecy in the book Isaiah and is primarily directed at Israel. Although since the early christian times it was interpreted as messianic prophecy pointing to Jesus, the prophecy has other interpretations in Judaism.
I did a quick search on israeli websites. All of them state, that Immanuel is an unisex name. Shem-li states 95 % male, 5 % female name bearers.
Also, the websites state, that the name has a strong traditional meaning (hope of redemption, spirituality, strong faith, attachment to the jewish roots, gratitude).
https://babynames.baby-land.co.il/namelist/%D7%A2%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9C/
http://www.shemli.co.il/hebnames/name_details.seam?nameID=364
https://www.mako.co.il/ninemonth-baby_names/international_names_girls/Article-da49398476be961006.htm
Apparently Immanuel ranked #104 in 2018 and #103 in 2019 as both male and female name. Only in 2020 they ranked differently: female #82 (192 girls), male #101 157 boys
I did a quick search on israeli websites. All of them state, that Immanuel is an unisex name. Shem-li states 95 % male, 5 % female name bearers.
Also, the websites state, that the name has a strong traditional meaning (hope of redemption, spirituality, strong faith, attachment to the jewish roots, gratitude).
https://babynames.baby-land.co.il/namelist/%D7%A2%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9C/
http://www.shemli.co.il/hebnames/name_details.seam?nameID=364
https://www.mako.co.il/ninemonth-baby_names/international_names_girls/Article-da49398476be961006.htm
Apparently Immanuel ranked #104 in 2018 and #103 in 2019 as both male and female name. Only in 2020 they ranked differently: female #82 (192 girls), male #101 157 boys