Boys
A boy is named during his circumcision on the eighth day after birth.1
The firstborn son of a mother whose first delivery was not by caesarean section, where neither parent is of priestly or Levite descent, is "redeemed" from a kohen on the 31st day (pidyon ha-ben) for five silver shekels.2,3,4
In Ashkenazi families, on the Friday evening after a boy is born, a shalom zachar is held, an informal gathering with refreshments.
Girls
In Ashkenazi tradition a girl is named in the synagogue, when her father is called up to the Torah, with the Mi she-berakh prayer.
Sephardi communities have the zeved ha-bat ceremony ("gift of the daughter") with a verse from the Song of Songs.5
Since the 1970s, new celebrations of a daughter's birth (simchat bat) have emerged in liberal communities and in some Orthodox ones.
Choosing a name
The Hebrew name takes the form "X son/daughter of Y" and is used when being called up to the Torah, in prayers for the sick and on the gravestone.
Ashkenazim traditionally do not name a child after a living relative, but after a deceased one; Sephardim, by contrast, commonly name children after living grandparents.
FAQ
Must a child have a Hebrew name?
Halakhah does not explicitly prescribe it as a condition of belonging, but traditional practice gives a Hebrew name, because it is used in ceremonies.⁂ To verify
Who is a Jew according to halakhah?
According to Orthodox and Conservative halakhah, the child of a Jewish mother or a convert. Since 1983, American Reform Judaism has also recognized descent through the father under certain conditions.⁂ To verify
