Baby Name: Elijah

According to the U.S. baby name data, the Hebrew name Yoel was one of the fastest-rising baby names in the nation in 1979. A year later, the name — which was mostly being used in the state of New York — entered the boys’ top 1,000 for the very first time.

Yoel’s English equivalent, Joel, also made gains in 1979 and 1980. Again, the increase was largely attributable to usage in New York.

So what was inspiring parents (particularly those in New York) to use the name?

The death of Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum in August of 1979.

Teitelbaum — whose first name was often transcribed “Joel” — had been the the leader of the New York City-based Satmar Hasidic sect since the 1940s.

Teitelbaum was born in Eastern Europe in 1887. In the mid-1930s, he was appointed chief rabbi of the town of Szatmár (which was traded between Hungary and Romania during the first half of the 20th century).

After World War II, Teitelbaum emigrated to the United States and re-established the Satmar sect in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. The sect was ultra-conservative, isolationist, and anti-Zionist. It grew steadily over the ensuing decades.

In the mid-1970s, the Satmars established a village called Kiryas Joel (“City of Joel”) about 50 miles to the north (i.e., away from the temptations of the city). A few years later, Yoel Teitelbaum’s funeral — which was attended by tens of thousands of people — was held in the village that bore his name.

Speaking of his name, it comprises two elements, the first of which refers to Yahweh and the second of which means “god.” (Fun fact: The name Elijah is essentially made up of the same two elements, but in reverse order.)

What are your thoughts on the name Yoel? How about Joel?

P.S. The 1994 death of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the leader of another New York City-based Hasidic group, also influenced U.S. baby names…

Sources:

• Joel Teitelbaum – Wikipedia
• Satmar – Wikipedia
• Teitelbaum, Rav Yoel (The Satmarer Rebbe) – Orthodox Union
• Lewis-Kraus, Gideon. “An Extraordinary Account of a Hasidic Enclave.” Review of American Shtetl, by Nomi M. Stolzenberg and David N. Myers. New Yorker 23 Feb. 2022.
• Pink, Aiden. “Who are the Satmar, a Hasidic Jewish sect in the news.” Forward 29 Apr. 2020.
• Behind the Name
• SSA

Image: Joel Teitelbaum (public domain)