Gittin 11B

עדים החתומין על הגט ושמותן כשמות גוים, מהו? אמר ליה: לא בא לידינו אלא לוקוס ולוס, והכשרנו.

With regard to witnesses who signed a bill of divorce and whose names are like the names of non-Jews, what is the halakha? R' Yoḥanan said to him: There came before us bills of divorce that were signed only with names such as Lukos and Los, and we deemed them valid by means of the witnesses of transmission.

ודוקא לוקוס ולוס, דלא שכיחי ישראל דמסקי בשמהתייהו, אבל שמהתא אחריני דשכיחי ישראל דמסקי בשמהתייהו ⁠– לא.

The Talmud infers: And this applies specifically to names such as Lukos and Los, as it is uncommon to find Jews who are called by these names. However, with regard to other non-Jew names, concerning which it is common to find Jews who are called by these names, no, the documents are not valid, as people might mistakenly rely on the signatures of non-Jews.

איתיביה: גיטין הבאים ממדינת הים ועדים חתומים עליהם, אף על פי ששמותיהן כשמות גוים ⁠– כשירין, מפני שרוב ישראל שבחוצה לארץ שמותיהן כשמות גוים.

Reish Lakish raised an objection to this ruling from a baraita (Tosefta 4:8): With regard to bills of divorce that come from a country overseas, and witnesses are signed upon them, even though the names of the witnesses are like the names of non-Jews, they are valid, because the names of most Jews outside of Eretz Yisrael are like the names of non-Jews. This indicates that a bill of divorce is valid even when the names are not clearly those of non-Jews.

התם, כדקתני טעמא: מפני שרוב ישראל שבחוצה לארץ שמותיהן כשמות גוים.

The Talmud answers: There the halakha is different, as it teaches the reason explicitly: Because the names of most Jews outside of Eretz Yisrael are like the names of non-Jews. Consequently, it can be assumed that the court examined the matter at the time of the signing, and that the document was signed by Jews. However, in Eretz Yisrael it is more likely that ambiguous names are actually those of non-Jews, and therefore a document of this kind is valid only when it is clear it was signed by non-Jews, to avoid mistakes.