About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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What do you think?

39 Comments

  1. 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. 🙂

  2. 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!

  3. I 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.

    1. 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.

  4. 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.

    1. 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.

  5. I 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

    1. 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!

    2. 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.

      Maybe as a middle name and Esther is pretty too.

      1. 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.

        1. Panya, you’re right – huh DASS uh is harsh, and you’d probably hear quite a bit of it.

          1. 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.

  8. 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.