Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, Naomi and Naomi met for a book club on a recent sunny Saturday in Prospect Park.
Over Kit Kats, Oreos, strawberries and Goldfish crackers, 19 women, all named Naomi, discussed the 2023 book “Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World” by author Naomi Klein. In the book, Klein, a democratic socialist, reflects on frequently being mistaken for another Naomi, author and conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf. Although both are “brown-haired middle-aged Jewish women writers,” as Michelle Goldberg described them in the New York Times, the two hold very different beliefs.
“Being chronically confused with another person may be humiliating, but that’s not all it is,” Klein writes in the book. “It is also an oddly intimate experience.”
The meetup, designed to also be “an oddly intimate experience,” was organized by Naomi Becker, 31. A data manager at a nonprofit, Becker decided to advertise the event the old-fashioned way: by putting up flyers around Brooklyn — including at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Greenlight Bookstore, the Center for Fiction — without so much as a QR code.
Becker, who is Jewish and lives in Brooklyn, was inspired to create the book club after recently learning about “Doppelganger”; she immediately decided she wanted to read it with other Naomis. “My friend sent me a video of this incredibly heartwarming group of Bens who formed a meetup and a WhatsApp group,” said Becker, referring to the UK-based group called the Council of Bens. “And that’s low-key my goal.”
On the appointed date — May 31 — Becker arrived at the park’s Long Meadow equipped with a blanket, a copy of “Doppelganger” and a cardboard sign with the word “NAOMI” scrawled in black Sharpie.
Thanks, in part, to the sign, the Naomis — who were mostly in their 20s and 30s — managed to find each other. As the women went around and introduced themselves (“hi, I’m Naomi”), it became clear that, despite Becker’s low-tech marketing tactics, most attendees learned about the event after seeing pictures of the flyer on Instagram.
“Like, seven friends tagged me in a post about it,” one Naomi told the group.
A cardboard sign served as a beacon for the Naomis to assemble at Propsect Park’s Long Meadow. (Lauren Hakimi)
The Naomis — who hailed from Scotland, Japan, Eritrea, the Upper West Side and more — agreed that they had never been in the presence of so many Naomis. Instead of talking about the book — which many of them hadn’t read — they mostly marveled at their similarities, and tried to find more.
“What’s everyone’s star sign?” one Naomi asked.
“Is anyone here left-handed?” asked another.
“Does anyone have people that call them ‘I moan,’ like Naomi backwards?” another Naomi asked.
“I had the issue whenever I was reading smut, and I read ‘I moan,’ I would read my name, so I have to really focus and be like, no, she’s moaning,” a Naomi with a lip piercing said.
“Fun fact: ‘Imoan’ means ‘sweet potato paste’ in Japanese,” shared a Naomi who was from Japan.
One Naomi present actually chose the name herself: Born Nathan, as part of her journey as a transgender woman, she chose a name that had similar letters and Hebrew roots as her birth name. “I like the meaning of Naomi,” she said: “pleasantness.”
Naomi is a character in the Book of Ruth, a part of the Torah read on Shavuot — the two-day Jewish holiday that, coincidentally, began the evening after the meetup. It’s a popular name, and not just for Jewish girls: Naomi was the 44th most popular name given to baby girls in the U.S. in 2024, according to the Social Security Administration. Naomi is also a common unisex name in Japan.
Klein, who lives in British Columbia, Canada, didn’t respond to the New York Jewish Week’s request for comment, but she sent Becker an email to read aloud to the assembled Naomis. “Naomis, in my experience, tend to be very confident and opinionated, so go easy on each other!” Klein wrote.
Wolf didn’t attend the meetup, either. In a message to New York Jewish Week on X, she said she hasn’t read “Doppelganger.”
Over the course of the afternoon, Naomis came and went. Before departing, each Naomi gave their contact info to Becker, who created a WhatsApp group so participants could stay in touch with each other about issues affecting the Naomi community.
If nothing else, there appears to be high demand in Brooklyn for Naomi-themed events.
“Maybe it’s an annual event,” Becker said. “Naomi day.”
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