Our Names Our Identity

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Students uncover the stories behind their own names, explore Sephardic and Mizrahi naming traditions, and examine what happens to identity when immigrants keep, change, or lose their names.

Overview

Names carry stories: a grandparent honored, a hope for a child’s future, a city a family once called home. For Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, names in Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, French, and Berber languages record centuries of history, and migration often put those names to the test. Children arriving in Israel in the 1950s were frequently given new Hebrew names by teachers, and immigrants to many countries changed their own names to fit in. Students interview family members about their names, study Sephardic and Mizrahi naming traditions and surnames, analyze texts about names that were lost and kept, and write a bio poem that tells their own story.

Essential Questions

  1. What do our names mean to us, our families, and our communities?
  2. Why do people keep, change, or lose their names when they move to a new country, and who gets to decide?
  3. How can learning about one another’s names help us honor the diversity of our communities?

Students will be able to

  • Interview a family member and record the story, meaning, and origin of their name.
  • Identify common categories of Jewish surnames and give Sephardic and Mizrahi examples of each.
  • Compare Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi naming customs.
  • Analyze texts about immigrants whose names were changed, and distinguish names that were imposed from names that were chosen.
  • Write a bio poem that connects their name to their identity and family history.

Curriculum Connections

  • ELA: RI.7.1, W.7.3, SL.7.1
  • Social Studies (C3): D2.His.2.6-8, D2.His.4.6-8; immigration and identity
  • Jewish Studies (Jewish settings): Shemot, the Book of Exodus; Jewish naming customs and Hebrew names; Sephardic and Mizrahi heritage

Materials

  • Index cards, markers, construction paper or poster board for nameplates
  • Devices with internet access for name research
  • Appendix A: The History of My Name (assign as homework before Day 1)
  • Appendix B: Names Lost and Names Kept, Appendix C: Sephardic and Mizrahi Names, and Appendix D: Bio Poem (one each per student)

At a Glance

Grade and setting: Grades 6 to 8, public, independent, and Jewish schools; adaptable for grades 9 to 12
Time: Two 45 minute class periods, plus a family interview at home
Source: Adapted from Journey to the Mizrah

Note to teacher

Names can be tender territory. Some students are adopted, live with guardians, use a name different from their legal name, or do not know their name’s story. Offer every student a path: they may interview any trusted adult, research a name they admire, or write about a name in their family. Never require students to share more than they choose.

Downloads

  • Lesson Plan  Full lesson with teacher background, vocabulary, assessment, and differentiation (PDF)
  • Appendix A  The History of My Name: family interview (PDF)
  • Appendix B  Names Lost and Names Kept: six short sources (PDF)
  • Appendix C  Sephardic and Mizrahi Names, with a name research organizer (PDF)
  • Appendix D  Bio Poem (PDF)

Before the Lesson

  1. Family interview. A few days before Day 1, send home Appendix A. Students interview a parent, grandparent, or other trusted adult about how their name was chosen and what it means.

Day 1. Introduction (15 minutes)

  1. Name cards (5 min). Students write their name on an index card, in as many ways as they like, and add three words or phrases they connect with it. Model with your own, for example: “Tamar Zaken: Grandma Zilpa; date palm; hard to pronounce in America.”
  2. Share (5 min). In pairs, students share one story from their family interview. What do our names say about us, our families, and where our families come from?
  3. Naming customs (5 min). Many Ashkenazi families name children after a relative who has died, while many Sephardic and Mizrahi families name children after grandparents who may still be living. What might it feel like to hear your grandparent’s name every time someone calls you?

Day 1. Names Lost and Names Kept (30 minutes)

  1. “These are the names” (5 min). The Hebrew name of the Book of Exodus, Shemot, means “names,” after its opening list of the family that went down to Egypt. Read Sources 1 and 2 in Appendix B. Why might a story of slavery and freedom begin with names? Why would a tradition credit keeping names with helping a people survive?
  2. Text stations (15 min). Small groups read Sources 3 to 6: Sami Shalom Chetrit’s classroom in Israel, Eli Amir’s immigrant youth group, the Ellis Island myth, and names reclaimed, and answer the questions on each.
  3. Discuss (10 min). Who decided to change each name? Was the change imposed or chosen? What was gained and what was lost? Why does it matter that the Ellis Island story is a myth?

Day 2. Researching Our Names (25 minutes)

  1. Name detectives (10 min). Using Appendix C, review the categories of Jewish surnames (place, trade or role, quality, ancestor) and the Sephardic and Mizrahi examples. Students try to classify their own names.
  2. Research and nameplates (15 min). Students research their names using their interview notes, Behind the Name, and the ANU Museum’s database of Jewish family names, then create a nameplate showing pronunciation, origin, meaning, the story of who chose it, and a symbol. Online databases can contain errors; family stories are evidence too.