Faith
Are the names Shilat, Avishag, and Hallel good for a girl?
Question
Hello, honored rabbi.
I was blessed with a baby girl, and my wife and I want to choose a name for her. We have three names we have been thinking about: Shilat, Avishag, and Hallel. I would be glad to know whether these are good names; Shilat was the one we liked best.
Thank you, and good evening, honored rabbi.
Answer
Greetings,
The name Avishag is the most recommended. The name Shilat is also good and may be given to a girl.
Sources: Avishag was one of King David’s wives, as explained in First Kings (chapter 1, verses 3-4).
As for the name Shilat, see Sefer Yuchasin (letter Sh) which cites, in the name of the Geonim in a responsum concerning Rav Shmuel bar Shilat, that Shilat was the name of Rav Shmuel’s mother and that she was the sister of Rabbi Chiyya. However, in Sefer Yuchasin there, his view is not so. But in Sefer Pri Tzaddik on Purim (letter 2), he wrote an explanation of the words of the Geonim. According to this, the name Shilat is good for a girl. This is also what is written in Sefer Yeshuot Mordechai (page 118) in the name of HaGaon Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l. And in Sefer Shemot BaAretz (page 72) it is brought in the name of Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlit"a that it may be given to a girl.
With blessings for mazel tov and much nachas,
Hillel Meirs
