My sister in law’s name is Hadasseh Cerisse. I don’t know if I would have liked the name to begin with, but it has definitely grown on me over the years. Esther is probably my favorite biblical character, so I love that aspect of the name. We call Hadasseh “Dass” or “Dasseh” most of the time. She’s in her early twenties, and has an exotic look, which I think is very fitting for her name. 🙂
My 10 month old niece is named Hadassah Starr and I intend to name my future daughter Hadassah as well. Nicknames we call her are Dassah, Dassy, but I usually like to call her by her name. My sister and I were both quite familiar with the story of Hadassah/Esther in the Bible but not until we read an incredible historical fiction book called A Voice in the Wind did we both treasure the name “Hadassah.” The book is about a young Christian Jew named Hadassah who is made a slave in Rome after the Romans besige Jerusalem in 70AD leaving it in a heap. She is a light for the Lord in the darkness she lives in. Her testimony is very strong and left a deep impression on our teenage selfs! Read the book if you get a chance!
That is not appropiate and I hope your name is not Creek. And just an unfortunate nickname some one gave you. Other than that sometimes its best to just keep your thoughts to yourself and not be so enamored with hearing yourself speak.
My niece’s name is Hadassah Grace, and she loves her name. Hadassah is prettier spoken rather than written, in my opinion. There are lots of ways to make fun of it, but lots of cute nicknames you can get out of it. We call her Dassie Do, Haddie, Addy, Dassa, Sasha…it didn’t take her long at all to learn to spell it when she was young and she is almost never teased because of it. Younger children do seem to be more accepting though, and maybe she will get some insults later on….my husband and i are considering the name Hadassah as a name for our girl. I like the name Hannah too, but i don’t want something too common. I want her to know that she, like her name, is unique.
You’re considering naming YOUR daughter Hadassah so she has a ‘unique’ name even though your NIECE is Hadassah? I hope you rethink that. I’d be ticked if you were my sis or Sis-in-law and rolled in with the “unique” name I had already chosen.
I have a cousin named Hadassah, with a sibling named Sarah.
I always thought both sisters’ names having an “-ah” ending was nice, with
Hadassah lucking out with the more unique name.
I’ve only known one girl with the name and it wasn’t actually Hadassah – it was Hadass, which I tend to like the sound of better, though its unfortunate last three letters leave me less than enthused. Her older brother was Isaac (not my taste) and her mom was Ora. Her dad was Mitch. I always thought it was an interesting name and am glad to know the origins. I definitely like Hadassah better than Esther.
I noticed Hadass here and there when I researching Hadassah. I agree with you – pretty sound, but yikes – I think it would be easier to go through high school as Hedwig!
Yes, I think that same unfortunate sound may be why the name isn’t so popular. At first I was like “That is a pretty name” and then I realized that it has the same sound that took ‘Jasper’ off my list of possibilities.
Honestly, I do think it’s the middle syllable. Americans tend to pronounce stressed syllables harshly, so Hadassah would become huh-DASS-uh instead of huh-DAH-suh.
Actually, Americans tend to say “ha-DAH-sah” and the British are more likely to say “ha-DASS-ah”. Most of the people “hadassah” would come in contact with would only know her name by hearing it. Most people have a difficult time spelling hadassah anyways, even though it’s spelled almost exactly how it sounds. even so, you can always take of the extra “s” and make it “hadasah”. I also think it sounds prettier than how it appears when written. Look at the weird, contemporary names we have today. So you’re not opposed to names like “Apple” and “Pepper”, but “hadassah” is a no-no? Few people would recognize that unfortunate word in the middle. If you look at the origin of the name, and Hadassah in the Bible, you’ll see that hadassah is a very special name. Please do not ruin a little girl’s opinion of her name because of a word she might not even know.
I’ve always loved the story of Esther, but found the name itself too everyday for my taste. That’s why I was always surprised that Hadassah wasn’t more popular. I did grow up with a friend named Hadassah, but she went by her middle name (the similar-sounding Harshala). I have an arbitrary rule that none of my kids’ names can end with the same sound, so Hadassah’s out, but I’d definitely consider Hester.
Incidentally, I’m pretty sure that Mordecai was actually Hadassah/Esther’s older cousin, not her uncle.
I’ve always loved the story of Esther, which put Esther (with cute nickname Essie) on my short list. I’ve never thought of using Hadassah, but I am thinking I might need to add it now. It is quite pretty, and the organization wouldn’t be much of an association here in the States. I might have to add Hadassah to my list!
I was raised an Evangelical Christian, attended parochial school and supposedly had a “good” Bible-based education. Despite this, I didn’t learn the story of Esther until college, when my Jewish roommate explained Purim to me. I think some Americans are just unaware of the story of Hadassah/ Esther.
When I hear Hadassah, I think of the organization, not a baby name. But, I can see the allure of the name and think Haddie would a cute nickname.
I actually know a little girl named Hadassah. It was a nice change from the plethora of Tovah, Abigail, Leah, Hannah, and Shoshannahs we ususally meet.
I really like Hadassah. Haddie and Dasha are adorable nickname ideas. I have only ever seen the name used on Orthodox Jews. Its weird why names like Jeremiah, Isaiah and Abigail have hit the mainstream, but not this.
I like Haddie, too – then again, I’m a huge Hattie fan. One of the characters on the latest television adaptation of Parenthood is called Haddie. Not sure if it is meant to be short for anything.
The first thing that I thought of was Esther, which means a lot to me because she’s one of my favourite people in the Bible. I view this as a Christian/Jew/Catholic name like Asher, because they’re shared. The charitable organization part doesn’t perturb me as I don’t have it in my country & it’s not really relevant to my country.
What’s odd is that I’ve noticed on many forums that names like Chanel are almost viewed as lesser or as ‘trying too hard’ , which always entertains me as between Chantel/Chatal & Chanel, they’re my -aden trend. Chanel is VERY popular here; I think it’s because of the French names. I came across a Guillaume the other day & was excited!
In terms of sound, the name doesn’t appeal to me & neither do the similar names like Susannah (the Su names have actually been on my ‘Never Ever ‘ list since I was little).The sound also reminds me of Hagatha. Between the ‘hag’ part & ‘Agatha” part, the name just doesn’t appeal to me based on sound or word connotation. In terms of its history, it’s fascinating
Catholics believe that we are Christians. (Actually, I suppose we believe we’re the One True Faith, but hey, doesn’t every church?) For that matter, Mormons identify as Christians, too.
But I’ve heard other Christians refer to Catholics (and Mormons) as something other. And I have heard myself use “Christians” to refer to evangelicals – distinct from, say, Lutherans.
Doesn’t make any sense, does it? But there it is. I do (try to) correct myself, but it is easy to slip up.
There are extra books in the Catholic Bible that aren’t in the ‘Christian’ Bible. Christians & Catholics are similar, though there are huge differences in doctrine on certain topics.A lot of things also differ according to Christian denomination i.e Methodist, Charismatic etc, though in my personal experience & knowledge, I classify Catholicism as a religion on it’s own as opposed to denomination. It’s largely a doctrine thing. I mainly mentioned Catholics out of respect, instead of just saying Christian/Jews. Overall, they are Christians,but separate. I hope that made some form of sense .
The term Christian refers to people who think Christ was the son of god and worship him. Period. It encompasses Catholics, Mormons, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, etc. Non-Christ religions are not Christians. It’s pretty much as basic as that, isn’t it?
I like Hadassah and agree it has a lot of the makings for what should be a popular name… is it possible it’s not popular just because? No reason, just that it isn’t used, so people don’t think of it, so it’s not used and there’s the closed circle of non-usage? Even though I can appreciate Esther (and it is the style of name I generally like in terms of it being feminine but not frilly), I don’t really have a lot of love for Esther, I prefer Hadassah… funny how the much more frilly Hadassah is far more appealing to me.
I think you might be right on the “closed circle of non-usage.”
I lived in the Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh for a few years – lots of Orthodox Jews, but also the home of mainstream organizations, like the local JCC and the Hadassah office. Since I used to walk by the Hadassah sign daily, that’s a pretty strong association for me – but just like many parents don’t think of Cohen as anything but a local brother for Caden, I figure that must be true of Hadassah, too – right?
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Lacy says
January 9, 2015 at 4:22 PMMy sister in law’s name is Hadasseh Cerisse. I don’t know if I would have liked the name to begin with, but it has definitely grown on me over the years. Esther is probably my favorite biblical character, so I love that aspect of the name. We call Hadasseh “Dass” or “Dasseh” most of the time. She’s in her early twenties, and has an exotic look, which I think is very fitting for her name. 🙂
Jennifer Rivkah says
October 9, 2012 at 3:31 AMMy 10 month old niece is named Hadassah Starr and I intend to name my future daughter Hadassah as well. Nicknames we call her are Dassah, Dassy, but I usually like to call her by her name. My sister and I were both quite familiar with the story of Hadassah/Esther in the Bible but not until we read an incredible historical fiction book called A Voice in the Wind did we both treasure the name “Hadassah.” The book is about a young Christian Jew named Hadassah who is made a slave in Rome after the Romans besige Jerusalem in 70AD leaving it in a heap. She is a light for the Lord in the darkness she lives in. Her testimony is very strong and left a deep impression on our teenage selfs! Read the book if you get a chance!
Anna says
October 9, 2017 at 2:23 PMYes!! Main reason why I love the name!! 🙂
Creek says
September 15, 2011 at 10:40 PMI think it’s one of the ugliest names I’ve ever heard. It’s probably due to the ass in the middle. I can’t imagine saddling a girl with that name.
A Father of Hadassah says
February 17, 2012 at 10:17 AMThat is not appropiate and I hope your name is not Creek. And just an unfortunate nickname some one gave you. Other than that sometimes its best to just keep your thoughts to yourself and not be so enamored with hearing yourself speak.
Janet says
July 13, 2010 at 2:37 PMMy niece’s name is Hadassah Grace, and she loves her name. Hadassah is prettier spoken rather than written, in my opinion. There are lots of ways to make fun of it, but lots of cute nicknames you can get out of it. We call her Dassie Do, Haddie, Addy, Dassa, Sasha…it didn’t take her long at all to learn to spell it when she was young and she is almost never teased because of it. Younger children do seem to be more accepting though, and maybe she will get some insults later on….my husband and i are considering the name Hadassah as a name for our girl. I like the name Hannah too, but i don’t want something too common. I want her to know that she, like her name, is unique.
Nathalie says
February 20, 2012 at 3:07 PMYou’re considering naming YOUR daughter Hadassah so she has a ‘unique’ name even though your NIECE is Hadassah? I hope you rethink that. I’d be ticked if you were my sis or Sis-in-law and rolled in with the “unique” name I had already chosen.
Kaila says
July 6, 2010 at 2:56 PMI love the name Hadassah. It’s really beautiful, I think it’s my favourite name for a girl actually.
P.S Hadass is normally spelled Hadas, so no worrying about the last letters 😉 But Hadass is completely valid too.
Kristine says
May 30, 2010 at 3:01 PMHadassah…. Mufassah….
EK says
April 22, 2010 at 9:49 PMI have a cousin named Hadassah, with a sibling named Sarah.
I always thought both sisters’ names having an “-ah” ending was nice, with
Hadassah lucking out with the more unique name.
photoquilty says
April 22, 2010 at 7:39 PMI’ve only known one girl with the name and it wasn’t actually Hadassah – it was Hadass, which I tend to like the sound of better, though its unfortunate last three letters leave me less than enthused. Her older brother was Isaac (not my taste) and her mom was Ora. Her dad was Mitch. I always thought it was an interesting name and am glad to know the origins. I definitely like Hadassah better than Esther.
appellationmountain says
April 22, 2010 at 8:04 PMI noticed Hadass here and there when I researching Hadassah. I agree with you – pretty sound, but yikes – I think it would be easier to go through high school as Hedwig!
Joy says
April 22, 2010 at 9:27 PMLook like hard ass!
British American says
April 22, 2010 at 9:58 PMYes, I think that same unfortunate sound may be why the name isn’t so popular. At first I was like “That is a pretty name” and then I realized that it has the same sound that took ‘Jasper’ off my list of possibilities.
Maybe as a middle name and Esther is pretty too.
Panya says
April 23, 2010 at 3:35 AMHonestly, I do think it’s the middle syllable. Americans tend to pronounce stressed syllables harshly, so Hadassah would become huh-DASS-uh instead of huh-DAH-suh.
appellationmountain says
April 23, 2010 at 6:34 AMPanya, you’re right – huh DASS uh is harsh, and you’d probably hear quite a bit of it.
somebody says
May 2, 2012 at 2:59 PMActually, Americans tend to say “ha-DAH-sah” and the British are more likely to say “ha-DASS-ah”. Most of the people “hadassah” would come in contact with would only know her name by hearing it. Most people have a difficult time spelling hadassah anyways, even though it’s spelled almost exactly how it sounds. even so, you can always take of the extra “s” and make it “hadasah”. I also think it sounds prettier than how it appears when written. Look at the weird, contemporary names we have today. So you’re not opposed to names like “Apple” and “Pepper”, but “hadassah” is a no-no? Few people would recognize that unfortunate word in the middle. If you look at the origin of the name, and Hadassah in the Bible, you’ll see that hadassah is a very special name. Please do not ruin a little girl’s opinion of her name because of a word she might not even know.
Charlotte Vera says
April 22, 2010 at 7:27 PMI’ve always loved the story of Esther, but found the name itself too everyday for my taste. That’s why I was always surprised that Hadassah wasn’t more popular. I did grow up with a friend named Hadassah, but she went by her middle name (the similar-sounding Harshala). I have an arbitrary rule that none of my kids’ names can end with the same sound, so Hadassah’s out, but I’d definitely consider Hester.
Incidentally, I’m pretty sure that Mordecai was actually Hadassah/Esther’s older cousin, not her uncle.
Lady Gwyn says
April 22, 2010 at 5:07 PMI’ve always loved the story of Esther, which put Esther (with cute nickname Essie) on my short list. I’ve never thought of using Hadassah, but I am thinking I might need to add it now. It is quite pretty, and the organization wouldn’t be much of an association here in the States. I might have to add Hadassah to my list!
appellationmountain says
April 22, 2010 at 4:30 PMJulie, I was clueless about Esther until recently, too. Too bad, ’cause it is a pretty impressive story.
Joy says
April 22, 2010 at 2:26 PMNot a favorite for me, but I think Hadassah is nice. I might lop off the last H to make it Hadassa.
Julie says
April 22, 2010 at 2:07 PMI was raised an Evangelical Christian, attended parochial school and supposedly had a “good” Bible-based education. Despite this, I didn’t learn the story of Esther until college, when my Jewish roommate explained Purim to me. I think some Americans are just unaware of the story of Hadassah/ Esther.
When I hear Hadassah, I think of the organization, not a baby name. But, I can see the allure of the name and think Haddie would a cute nickname.
Nicole says
April 22, 2010 at 12:40 PMI actually know a little girl named Hadassah. It was a nice change from the plethora of Tovah, Abigail, Leah, Hannah, and Shoshannahs we ususally meet.
Sebastiane says
April 22, 2010 at 11:03 AMDitto the Christian/Catholic thing. I have a tendancy to differentiate the two 🙂
SarahinJune says
April 22, 2010 at 9:37 AMI don’t have Hadassah on my list but I do have Hedasaa. It’s mostly there as a way to get to Hedy but it’s been growing on me.
appellationmountain says
April 22, 2010 at 9:56 AMNo Hedwig? 🙂
SarahinJune says
April 22, 2010 at 3:44 PM😀 Hedwig is a guilty pleasure (I named my Honda thus), but it seems like a lot to ask of a little girl 😉
Sebastiane says
April 22, 2010 at 8:39 AMI really like Hadassah. Haddie and Dasha are adorable nickname ideas. I have only ever seen the name used on Orthodox Jews. Its weird why names like Jeremiah, Isaiah and Abigail have hit the mainstream, but not this.
appellationmountain says
April 22, 2010 at 8:50 AMI like Haddie, too – then again, I’m a huge Hattie fan. One of the characters on the latest television adaptation of Parenthood is called Haddie. Not sure if it is meant to be short for anything.
photoquilty says
April 22, 2010 at 9:12 AMI saw that, too. I thought she was Hattie, then saw it was Haddie and it left me wondering what it’s short for.
UrbanAngel says
April 22, 2010 at 8:39 AMThe first thing that I thought of was Esther, which means a lot to me because she’s one of my favourite people in the Bible. I view this as a Christian/Jew/Catholic name like Asher, because they’re shared. The charitable organization part doesn’t perturb me as I don’t have it in my country & it’s not really relevant to my country.
What’s odd is that I’ve noticed on many forums that names like Chanel are almost viewed as lesser or as ‘trying too hard’ , which always entertains me as between Chantel/Chatal & Chanel, they’re my -aden trend. Chanel is VERY popular here; I think it’s because of the French names. I came across a Guillaume the other day & was excited!
In terms of sound, the name doesn’t appeal to me & neither do the similar names like Susannah (the Su names have actually been on my ‘Never Ever ‘ list since I was little).The sound also reminds me of Hagatha. Between the ‘hag’ part & ‘Agatha” part, the name just doesn’t appeal to me based on sound or word connotation. In terms of its history, it’s fascinating
photoquilty says
April 22, 2010 at 9:10 AMChristian/Jew/Catholic? I thought Catholics were Christians. Could you enlighten me?
appellationmountain says
April 22, 2010 at 9:55 AMCatholics believe that we are Christians. (Actually, I suppose we believe we’re the One True Faith, but hey, doesn’t every church?) For that matter, Mormons identify as Christians, too.
But I’ve heard other Christians refer to Catholics (and Mormons) as something other. And I have heard myself use “Christians” to refer to evangelicals – distinct from, say, Lutherans.
Doesn’t make any sense, does it? But there it is. I do (try to) correct myself, but it is easy to slip up.
UrbanAngel says
April 22, 2010 at 10:02 AMI know exactly what you mean about the whole reference thing, Abby ! I do the same.
UrbanAngel says
April 22, 2010 at 9:59 AMThere are extra books in the Catholic Bible that aren’t in the ‘Christian’ Bible. Christians & Catholics are similar, though there are huge differences in doctrine on certain topics.A lot of things also differ according to Christian denomination i.e Methodist, Charismatic etc, though in my personal experience & knowledge, I classify Catholicism as a religion on it’s own as opposed to denomination. It’s largely a doctrine thing. I mainly mentioned Catholics out of respect, instead of just saying Christian/Jews. Overall, they are Christians,but separate. I hope that made some form of sense .
photoquilty says
April 22, 2010 at 7:36 PMThe term Christian refers to people who think Christ was the son of god and worship him. Period. It encompasses Catholics, Mormons, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, etc. Non-Christ religions are not Christians. It’s pretty much as basic as that, isn’t it?
appellationmountain says
April 22, 2010 at 8:03 PMNot even close! Seriously. It can be a subject of raging debate – and almost certainly is, at some other blog. 🙂
JNE says
April 22, 2010 at 8:07 AMI like Hadassah and agree it has a lot of the makings for what should be a popular name… is it possible it’s not popular just because? No reason, just that it isn’t used, so people don’t think of it, so it’s not used and there’s the closed circle of non-usage? Even though I can appreciate Esther (and it is the style of name I generally like in terms of it being feminine but not frilly), I don’t really have a lot of love for Esther, I prefer Hadassah… funny how the much more frilly Hadassah is far more appealing to me.
appellationmountain says
April 22, 2010 at 8:44 AMI think you might be right on the “closed circle of non-usage.”
I lived in the Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh for a few years – lots of Orthodox Jews, but also the home of mainstream organizations, like the local JCC and the Hadassah office. Since I used to walk by the Hadassah sign daily, that’s a pretty strong association for me – but just like many parents don’t think of Cohen as anything but a local brother for Caden, I figure that must be true of Hadassah, too – right?