Notes

• Also called brit chayim, brit bat, brit chayim, and simchat bat.

  "A naming may be held in the family’s home, weeks or even months after the birth. Sometimes the ceremony takes place in synagogue during the Torah service. If the ceremony is held during a Torah service, the baby’s parents and/or grandparents, siblings, and friends may receive an aliyah, and special prayers are said for the well-being of the baby. Many parents include readings and personal observations about having a child, along with appropriate brachot, including the Shehecheyanu. Blessings often include a wish that the child will 'grow to enjoy a life of huppah, Torah, and ma’asim tovim (good deeds).” The ceremony is often followed by a celebration that includes a festive meal and gifts for the newborn. Unlike a brit milah, there is no formally mandated time when the ceremony must occur.

  Although it seems like a modern tradition, the celebration of the birth of a girl is mentioned in the Torah and Midrash. However, there is no formal liturgy. It is customary to announce for whom the baby is named. Ashkenazic Jews usually name a child in memory of a deceased relative; Sephardic Jews generally name a child after a living relative. Sometimes the child shares the same English name or the same Hebrew name as the deceased, other times it is simply the same initial letter or a name with similar meaning." (JPS)