by
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe

Syosset, New York

Welcome to "di velt" (the world), Aleph Portman-Millepied!

The news is out: Natalie Portman and her fiance, Benjamin Millepied, are the proud parents of a "beybi" boy, named "Aleph." Yes, "Aleph" is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The letters represent the "oneness of God" and the element of air. It is pronounced AH-lef, accent on the first syllable. I give them an A-plus for selecting this original name and only hope that baby "Aleph" does not get shortened to Al or Ali.

BTW, Aluf Benn is an Israeli journalist and author and is the editor-at-large for Haaretz Newspaper.

Natalie was born in Israel, and perhaps she paid homage to her motherland by naming her son with the letter "A."

The Top 10 Hebrew Names for Boys in 2009 were:
1. Noam
2. Ital
3. Ori
4. Daniel
5. David
6. Yonatan
7. Yosef
8. Ido
9. Moshe
10. Ariel

Celebrities have been known to give their children "modne" (odd) and downright "meshuge" (crazy) names.

• Gwyneth Paltrow has a daughter named Apple ("epl" in Yiddish)
• Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise have a daughter named Suri.
  
• Arthur Ashe, the "tenis shpiler" (tennis player) has a daughter named Camera.
• Christie Brinkley, model, has a daughter named Sailor Lee.
• Bruce Willis, actor, has a daughter named Rumer Glenn.
• Toni Braxton, "der klezmer" (the musician), has a son named Denim Cole.
• Sarah Palin has two kids named Trig and Willow.

People love to "kritikirn" (to criticize). One individual posted the following alternate name for "Aleph": Hebrew National Dijon Portman-Millipied.

Another person wrote that selecting the name "Aleph" is like"Alf Alfa" from the Little Rascals.

Bangitout.com had a list of The Kosher Top Ten list of REJECTED Natalie Portman Baby Names. #8. Centipede Millipeed.

Some people have said that perhaps nobody has done more to resurrect Hebrew than Ms. Portman.

In an e-mail to Rabbi Anchelle Perl (Chabad of Mineola, Mineola, New York), inquiring about his thoughts on the name, "Aleph," he wrote,

Aleph has many meanings. What comes to mind is Aluf, which means leader. Also this is the source of the English word aloof. Either way, every parent has their own perspective on names they give to a child. What would be more meaningful is if she got married and had children in that order.
-------------------------------------------
Marjorie agrees with this saying: "A man has three names: the name he inherits, the name his parents give him, and the name he makes for himself."

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___________________________________________
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe is the author of
two books:

"Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers" and
"Are Yentas, Kibitzers, & Tummlers Weapons of Mass Instruction?  Yiddish
Trivia."  To order a copy, go to her
website: MarjorieGottliebWolfe.com

NU, what are you waiting for?  Order the book!

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