in Jewish religion what happens if you name your child after a living family member?

Question

I am 5 months pregnant with a girl and want to name her (middle name) after my grandmother. My grandmother is alive but was hit by a car 2 years ago and is essentially a vegetable. What is the reason I cannot name my child after her. I am jewish but not practising.

Answer 1

If you are Sephardi then there is no problem for you to name your child after a living relative. In fact, my friend who is of Persian Jewish origin is named after his grandpa who was still alive when he was born.
However, if you are Ashkenazim like me we do not name our children after living relatives or after relatives who have died outside of natural means i.e. people like your grandma. By the way I am sorry about your grandma. The reason to why we do not do this is because we believe that by naming children after living relatives it may seem like you can't wait for that person to die and that angel of death may also mess up and take the wrong soul. The reason we do not name our children after a person when has experience unnatural death so that the same thing would not happen to the child. I know that these are just superstitions but they are our menhagim (traditions). Though it may seem crazy to you, but think of your child if she would ever want to become observant Jew do you want her life to be a little bit difficult, by knowing that she was named after her grandma who was still alive. She may think that as soon as she was born she began to steal the soul of her grandma. Of course as I have said this is largely outdated customs, but Torah, Talmud, and menhagim is what makes us Jewish. One cannot exist without the other.
I hope that this helps and I hope that your grandma will make it through.

Answer 2

Please don't do it Our religion believes that if you name a child for the living then when the angel of death comes he or she might get mixed up and take the wrong person I know it sounds ridiculous but please don't tempt faith

Answer 3

I'm not sure what the official reason is, but I know it's considered bad luck.