For much of the Western world the Bible is the cornerstone, the fundamental reference -- not only for faith but for traditional baby names. Biblical roots instantly anchor a name. Elijah is a contempory name with a creative flair, but its biblical bona fides make it immune to charges of excess trendiness or kreativity. It's a "good solid Bible name."
The Bible is full of these good solid names. (For boys, anyway.) In addition to prophets like Elijah you have judges like Gideon, kings like Solomon, apostles like Matthew, and long rosters of the righteous. But you also have characters you wouldn't want anywhere near your kids. You wouldn't expect a name like Pilate or Haman to be chosen for its biblical roots any more than Voldemort would be picked as a literary name. Yet in many cases, when parents consider "good, solid Bible names" the Bible part trumps the good.
Cain was the Bible's first murderer. After killing his brother Abel he was condemned to wander the Earth a vagabond. The name Cain first cracked the list of the top 1000 names in America in 1994.
Delilah was the duplicitous lover of Samson who persuaded him to reveal the secret of his strength, then betrayed him to his enemies. The name Delilah has risen fast over the past decade and is now 583rd most popular girl's name in America.
Before you take those names as signs of the times, note that Delilah is merely reclaiming its 19th-century standing: it peaked at #486 back in 1891. In fact, parents of that time were surprisingly willing to plumb the darker corners of the Bible for baby names. Here are a some more sketchy characters whose names hit the U.S. top 1000 during the late 1800s:
Amon was a king of Judah who forsook the Lord and worshipped idols, and was assassinated by his own aides. Popularity peak: #823 in 1887.
Ananias was an early Christian who lied about the extent of his gift to the Apostles. He was censured by Peter and fell dead. Popularity peak: #898 in 1883.
Nimrod was an obscure king in the text of the Bible, but later traditions established him as a tyrant and enemy of God -- and his name as an epithet. Popularity peak: #1000 in 1880.
Outside of the top 1000, you can find at least a handful of 19th-century Americans named for biblical scoundrels of every stripe: Onan, Amnon, Herod, and yes, Pilate and Haman.
All of this poses a practical problem for a baby-name writer. As a rule, when I include a name in a list I don't consider it an endorsement. I'm not necessarily advocating Zodiac or Taffeta, or for that matter John or Mary. But if parents turn to a list labeled "Biblical Names," it's likely that they're looking for a positive religious connection. Onan is a name from the Bible, yet I can't imagine including in on my list of Bible baby names. (Perhaps pet names...Dorothy Parker famously called her pet bird Onan because he spilled his seed on the ground.)
The dividing line isn't clear, though. Some major biblical figures like Saul are mixed bags of honor and treachery. Other names like Judas are shared by multiple characters of varying virtue. And the popular, Bible-drenched name Delilah surely belongs on a biblical name list, treachery or no. So don't be surprised to see an entry like this in a future edition of the Baby Name Wizard:
Jezebel
Jezebel was a queen of ancient Israel who turned the throne away from the Lord, used violent tyranny to force idolatry on the populace, and ultimately met a gruesome end. She was so irredeemably bad that her name has become a common word for a shameless, wicked woman. It's kind of catchy, though.
Comments
Ooh, and Jezebel has that trendy "bel" ending. Jezebella, anyone?
I was watching Idol last night and noticed a girl named Antonella. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of pregnant women took note of that name.
great entry!
Just be sure you don't have any dogs if you use that name. LOL
oops, wasn't done yet.
I haven't read the book, but I guess you do give some description of the meaning of the name?
I wonder how many folks think about it as reclaiming, redeeming a character--especially for women in the Bible. When you say there are a lot of good male names, is it because a lot of women are "bad"? I'm not that familiar with the Bible, but I know Christianity [and other major religions] are often perceived as kind of patriarchal. So I wonder if naming a daughter Jezebel or Delilah or Eve could be a way of saying, Hey, she's not the enemy damn you!
Or yeah, maybe folks just like the name. I knew a girl in high school who chose the name Rachel. I think she was Catholic. They hd to choose a bible name. I don't know what the deal was. Anyway, her brother made fun of her cuz Rachel in the Bible is a whore. But I think she just liked the name--this was in the heyday of Friends.
??? Rachel was the 2nd wife, but I don't remember any "whore" connotations. Maybe they're thinking of Rahab. Even though she turned out to be good, every time she's referred to she is called "Rahab the harlot."
It's a wonder to me that Jacob is so excruciatingly popular, or that people would name their son Eli or Cain.
Guess a lot of people didn't attend Sunday school!
*laughing so hard at the bird named Onan*
I remember when Noah suddenly got popular. At first I was astonished, and now it seems like an ordinary name.
Another commenter asked why there aren't as many female Biblical names, and it's because there aren't as many women in the Bible as there are men.
The same commenter asked about the descriptions in the book, and as someone who owns the book I want to say the descriptions are GREAT. They're about the length as the jokey one above (for Jezebel) and I can't believe how much good information is packed into a small space. It has sibling-name suggestions for each name, too. The book is my absolute clear favorite of my baby name books, and I have many.
Robyn T- I agree that from a modern perspective it seems like a lot of females in the bible got a bad rap. If Deliah had been a man would we think of him as more clever than trecherous? Maybe Sampson needed to be knocked down a peg or two. (To be honest I really didn't pay that much attention in Sunday school.) Catholics do get to choose a "new" name when they are confirmed into the Church, but it doesn't have to be Bibical, it can also be a saint's name.
On another note, I know a little boy named Nimrod. His mother is French/Isreali and his father is African. The mother had really positive associations with the name and was kind of mad when her rabbi gave her a hard time about it.
I have also always wondered about the name Cassandra which is fairly common but has pretty negative connotations in literature and in Greek mythology. Sometimes, though I just think I'm being snobby.
There are lots of names that have bad connotations in literature but are beautiful names. One for me is Tess which is a name that I love but the book Tess of the Durbevilles is such a sad story that I would have a hard time naming my daughter Tess. Same with Jude from Jude the obscure.
One last thing, I met a guy named John Thomas but in Lady Chatterly's Lover the protagonist refers to his you-know-what as his John Thomas. I always thought it was weird that his well educated, well read parents chose the name John with the last name Thomas.
I think there is a distinct difference between a name's meaning and its connotations. The two, however, are becoming more and more intwined as time goes on. For many names, the original meaning isn't at all close to its modern day meaning.
One more last thing,
I think it would be interesting if Laura did an entry that compared original meanings to today's meaning/connotation. What are the most CHANGED names?
I can see Jezebel becoming popular for the same reasons cited above (trendy "z" and "bel"). On a related note, I was just looking at the birth announcements for a hospital in Kentucky. Notable names included:
Rage - I really hope this was a typo for Gage!
Copper - did the parents misspelled Cooper?
Sincere - how will she end her letters... Sincerely, Sincere ?
Elleanah - what can I say?
Sephora - I can see this being a really hot name if it wasn't for the store.
On the bright side, these names really do add to the spice of life!
Um, what about Eli was bad? He had idiotic sons, but he was a priest. Rahab was the harlot, Rachel had possitive connotations throughout and she was Joseph's mother, and in the line of Jesus (and the favored wife of Isreal). Of course, Rahab was also in the line of Jesus, so...
Growing up in a Christian church, many many people liked going with ONLY biblical names for their children. If you branch out to cities, you've got a better pool from which to choose. I know several pastor's daughters named Bethany. There is also Tabitha (which many forget is biblical), Esther, Sarah, Chloe, Anna, etc. There are a lot of names that aren't choosen because they are ugly (Gomer, for instance), have negative connotations (Jezebel, Vashti), or negative meanings (Naomi changed her name to Mara, which means "bitter" because she had turned into a bitter old woman).
I don't know any Samsons, but know a lot of Samuels.
What is great about religious books is their fund of names that otherwise would have died out completely - printed matter being the rarity it was for so many centuries. I believe negative connotations are really only for those who take an association seriously - I know a Saul and a Jude, two Tess's and have met a Vashti. My son is a Samuel but I didn't name him for religion - he was named after a horse!
Here's a really interesting article from The Jerusalem Post about Israeli naming practices. Among other things, it discusses some reasons for reclaiming biblical names that were traditionally considered negative or taboo.
http://www.behindthename.com/bb_gen/arcview.php?id=39957
Re: Vashti - I don't think the connotations are too bad there. Her husband, the king, was drunk and wanted to show her off to his drunk friends. She refused to come, and was then deposed. I actually like her character (not her name though).
In general, I think people who really care about the biblical connotations of name should look up the name in the bible. I don't understand why someone who is presumably religious enough to want a biblical name would not look up what sort of character the name-bearer is.
Jessica: I knew a Cassandra in college. She seemed to embrace the negative connotations of her name, sort of as being difficult maybe?
My niece is named Tess. I don't think her parents are well read. Maybe we should stop reading. Haha.
Re: Rachel: Okay I'm not sure what it was, but I swear her brother teased her that it was a whore's name.
jb: I kind of like Rage, Copper, and Sephora (although Copper is the name of the dog in The fox and the HOund). I like the sound of Elleanah.
christiana: Mara is beautiful! I knew a girl named Mara growing up. I think her mama was an artist.
Sal: Thanks for the article! Very interesting! I just got the bright idea today that I should see if I can work names into my dissertation topic and this is showing me some options... but does anyone know what a diaspora name means? Is it any name from another culture? Or only certain ones? I don't understand which ones were acceptable and why.
I wonder if the resurgance of "Delilah" has anything to do with the radio DJ who has a syndicated night-time radio show on easy listening stations around the country. Also, I have read two books recently that retell bible stories from a woman's point of view. My favorite was "The Red Tent" which was told from Dinah's point of view, and shed a more positive light on all of Jacob's women (Rachel, Leah, etc.) than is presented in the Bible.
I also think that a lot of people just like the way a name sounds and don't take the time to research it really thoroughly. (I have met a John Thomas, myself and have always wondered if the parents didn't know about the negative association or if they know and just don't care).
Thanks for writing about the popularity of Biblical names. Our son is Solomon...just because we like the name, not because of the Biblical association. We find Solomon evokes an idea of a quiet, confident, masculine man. Pretty much everyone we know who had a son in 2006 named him Elijah, Noah, Adam... and these are not religious people. Clearly something is in the air. Perhaps the comfort of old-fashioned, familiar names with lots of great history? More on this topic please!
As for our baby Solomon, we call him Sol for short -- we like that his nickname is the Spanish word for Sun. With middle name Forest, his names has a strong natural association -- Sol Forest! It's very poetic, I think. Another thing that's nice about these names is that although they're relatively uncommon, everyone recognizes them and knows how to spell and pronounce them.
I love a lot of biblical names- Abraham, Samson, Gideon, etc. but our number one guideline for naming our kids was 'NO biblical names'. We're not Christians so we wanted to pick something outside of that tradition.
Robyn T - in Jewish culture, diaspora refers to all the Jewish community scattered throughout the world, ie, not in Israel. So in the context of that article, the "diaspora names" they're talking about are names Jews have used while living in non-Jewish countries and cultures. The founders of the state of Israel used their names as signifiers that they were finally living among their own people, and didn't have to assimilate their names to fit someone else's culture.
I wonder if other cultures have the same tradition of naming children after names in religous text/legion? My husband is Indian so we're naming our daughter Tara (tahr-a, not tear-a) after his grandmother but Tara is also an Indian goddess (and a godess in many other cultures/religions) and one of the top Indian names in the US. I wonder if religious names make them inherently cross-cultural in our multi-cultural world.
Can anyone clear this one up? I know a very religious couple who have named their daughter Caitlyn - and the little girl's grandmother insists this is a Bible name. I can't ever remember hearing of a Caitlyn in the Bible - does anyone know different?
I've also noticed that Christian families like to name all of their children "Biblical" names. With Old Testament names being popular now, the boys are always Ezra or Josiah. But most of the good girl names sound too common, such as Rachel, Rebecca, or Sarah. So I've noticed many girls being named Jordan (from the river), Eden, Heaven or Nevaeah, Angel, etc. I would say these have biblical connotations, but not that they are biblical names.
As for the Rachel/Catholic school conversation, as a group, Catholics tend to favor saints names more than biblical names. Catholics are supposed to give their children a "Christian" name, and not something like Kylie or Jayden, but I don't think that is enforced.
Thanks for the timely post! We're considering naming our next one Balthasar (the traditional name assigned to one of the magi), and I've been a little surprised by the positive reaction to it.
Various thoughts:
1. Nimrod also has the "mighty hunter" association, and while I don't know any babies named Nimrod (I know some cats), I can see how that would help with rehabilitating the name. Similarly, a "Jonah" not long ago was a derisive term for someone who brought disaster on his friends, but is now a popular boy's name.
2. I'm starting to hear Sapphira used: pretty, and I guess being struck down by God for lying isn't a minus anymore.
3. Re: Cassandra. When my SIL said the new baby would be named "Cassandra," my husband said "I don't believe you." She didn't get it, having no idea who Cassandra was. I think cultural ignorance plays a part in the popularity of "bad guy" names.
4. OTOH, a friend plans to call his immanent daughter Medea, with full knowledge of the legend. Just hope she doesn't marry a Jason.
5. My husband wanted Tamar for one of our girls, but I just couldn't get past the sex-victim thing. If Tamar/Tamara can be a popular name, I guess there's room for Sapphira.
Robyn,
What is your field? Do keep us posted if you decide to include names and naming trends in your research.
I'm Catholic and don't remember that anything was said during the baptism classes about names (of course, most people attending the class already had babies, so the names had already been chosen). And at recent baptisms I have heard names ranging from Mary and Thomas to Addison and Hunter, so I don't think there's any kind of official prohibition against non-biblical names. Tradition holds that children should be given saints' names, but this is not "enforced" by anyone, at least not in my diocese.
6. (& last). Catholic canon law only requires that a baptismal name "should not be foreign to Christian sensibilities"; so Satan Chainsaw Jones is out, but almost anything else is in. (The idea was to respect traditional names from cultures not traditionally Christian.) The earlier 1917 Code required a Christian name--generally a saint or a virtue--but gave the baptizing priest the leeway to quietly add a saint's name to the baptismal register if the parents just wouldn't choose a suitable name. Which I guess goes to show parents have always been stubborn about their name choices.
Anyway 'distinctively Catholic' seems to be back, judging by the numbers of Dominics, Clares, John Pauls, and Theresas I'm seeing on the baptism list of the parish bulletin.
I came across the Old Testament name Mehetabel in some 19th century genealogy records. I love it! Sadly, my husband does not ...
She falls into the category of "too briefly mentioned to have good or bad connotations," though the name is translated today as "favoured by God" or "God makes happy." Nice meanings ... I may have to fight a little harder for my husband to consider this one ... ;)
A few weeks ago Sean Combs (Puff Daddy) named one of his newly born twin girls D'Lila (pronounced Deliah). So it's now celebrity trendy and trendy enough to be misspelled!
Sara- There's definitely no Caitlyn, however you spell it, in the Bible. The Irish name Caitlin is a variant of English Catherine, which in turn is a variant of the Greek Katherine, meaning "pure". The modern Kathleen is the Anglicised version of Caitlin (which in Ireland is pronounced Cath-leen). It's a big naming circle- but it doesn't go near the Bible!
The only name in the Bible that has God's direct endorsement is Maher-Shalal-Hashbaz (Isaiah 8:3), but it doesn't seem to have caught on widely.
Though at least one person seems to have seized the opportunity for the divinely favored name:
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/region/southeast/gajackson/cemetery/ind/Mahergrv.html
Elizabeth T: I'm in rhetoric. Will definitely keep you all posted, but dissertation is still a year or two away. (Thank god)
Just had to add that one of our dear friends just named her little girl Magdalena nn Maggie.
I love it personally.
I've always thought it was funny how some names sound so much more Biblical than others. Why is Elijah so much more Old Testament in feel than Noah? Or is it just me? Best to all!
Sara - no Caitlyn in my memory and I googled and searched Behind the Name for any references - association to Katherine, which was Greek (and New Testament was originally written in Greek), but that seems a far stretch to me. Chapter and verse? I'd question that grandmother... There are some saints named Catherine/Katherine?
I love the sound of Mara, but the question always comes to mind about the "meaning" of the names - if the name I choose has an awful meaning, am I setting my child up for that trait? If mara means "bitter" and Sara means "princess" - is Sara a better name, or does it really matter?
Sephora, I saw that and had to comment, this is very close to a name that is the name of a dragon in a really good book, that they just made it into a movie, Eragon. The dragons name is Saphira and I think these type names is poised to become more popular, if the movie is as popular as the book. Especially among the crowd of people (like me) who are really into the fantasy novels.
Is Mara pronounced Mare-uh or Marr-uh?
Re: biblical names, I am Christian, but I sometimes find the Biblical name trend amusing . . . I knew a pregnant couple last name Pace who desperately wanted their daughter's name to reflect their religion, so they settled on Grace. Fortunately, the grandparents-to-be convinced them to go with another them (the parents chose Canaan).
A few other unique Bible names I've known:
Genesis
Ephraim
Loyda (Spanish version of Lois)
Mibsam (obscure name from the OT)
Aziel
I don't think that I would ever give my negative opinion on a name to expectant parents. Even if it's a name I personally hate, I always tell them what a lovely, or unique, or nice, or whatever name they've picked. Medea, however, would be THE exception. Not that Jason wasn't pretty much a jerk (In myth, of course, I'm actually married to one); but Medea was horrible - she was psychotic!
After I posted about the Dragon name Saphira, I read the rest of the posts and have to say I was very suprised that Sapphira was a biblical name.
I can't imagine a more teasable-on-the-playground name than Nimrod, which has been used for some time as a synonym for "idiot" or "dimwit." (The Word Detective site traces the possible first usage in this sense to Bugs Bunny! http://www.word-detective.com/100699.html). I'm all for obscure Bible names, but would have a hard time keeping a straight face while a friend or family member welcomed little Nimrod to the world.
Ananias and Sapphira were a couple who were punished for lying to one of the disciples. Not a very pleasing story, so I'd have a hard time hearing that name and being told it was chosen because it was "Biblical."
I think I have no problem hearing names that are really very negative in the bible as long as the parents aren't clueless enough to say "he/she was named after a biblical character" - Anyone gonna name their kid after the biblcal city Gommorah?
Pastor's children I've known (often the most unusual bible names)
Avril
Sara
Bethany
Esther
Tabitha
Rhoda
Lily
Seth
Joshua and Caleb (these two are often paired)
Aaron
David and Jonathan (again, they often come in pairs)
Leah
Elizabeth
Shadrach, nn Shad
Daniel
April
there was a girl named Magdalena at my high school. i had never heard it before and actually thought the g was kind of ugly. she was a cool kid who could pull it off. (i think she went by maggie too, which i love. also she was the only maggie there in the mid/late '90s.) i think it could be a hard name for some to pull off though.
there was also a girl named safira at my high school. i had the feeling the name was like african or indian-influenced. she was also cool.
for the mara i knew, the first a was pronounced like the a in father. i think some of us might want our daughters to be bitter if it means they will be angry and fight for change.
Heather A.,
Now we mustn't be judgmental, just because someone murders their own children to get back at their ex-. I mean everyone has a bad day once in a while.
Totally agree with Lizpenn - I don't think I could keep a straight face after hearing Nimrod!
Just to say I'm really enjoying this conversation :)
Also, I have a friend who's expecting b/g twins and she's settled on the names Lily and Roy. I keep wondering whether to tell her that a) Lily is totally over-popular at the moment and that b)Roy sounds very later-middle-aged and balding to me! I guess I shouldn't!
I actually really like Lily but have decided against it for a daughter because it's just so popular... but Roy! I can't understand why she's keen on that one. I guess we're back to the harmonizing siblings issue again...
O.H., thank you for sharing the story of your husband's reaction to the name Cassandra. It made me laugh just as much as the thought of Dorothy Parker's bird named Onan! Too funny!
Valerie: i know a couple of Roys who are around 30. i thought it was an old name too, but i can sort of see it coming back. i think it could be cute.
Regarding Tess and Jude, I don't think I'd have any problem using either of those names. The stories are sad, but the characters are wonderful people. More importantly, the names are not so uncommon (Tess, as you might expect, was actually named Theresa) that they are irredeemably associated with the Thomas Hardy novels (Thomas Hardy's novels, much as I love them, not having the same cultural resonance as the Greek myths).
But Medea? Wow. That's almost as harsh as Medusa.
Still, I like to see names salvaged from the wreckage piles of cultural history. Sometimes I think it works - Magdalena, for instance, is a nice example of a name that is easily redeemed. I know an especially cute, so maybe that helps.
The thing about Bible names is that NONE of the humans in the Old Testament (and only two, max, in the New Testament), were perfect. Some were more admirable than others, but none perfect. So, every Biblical name comes with stories of human flaws and bad choices. Which is okay--that makes them just like every other kind of name, eh? (I do know a baby girl named Jezebel.)
As Mary is related to Mara etc. and means bitter too, I feel moved to report that the meaning of the name has so far been unimportant in my life. I personally like the version Marie and wouldn't hesitate to use it for a daughter.
On the now canceled TV show Everwood there was a character named Ephram Brown. The show was popular with teenagers and I wonder if the name will start showing up more often in ten to fifteen years when the audience starts having babies.
Great site! What kind of vibe do you get from Samara, Saranna, or Shalom (girls)? What about Caleb, Azrael (boys)?
Isabelle: I knew a girl named Samara in elementary school. I think maybe she spelled it with an H somewhere in there. I always thought of it as very... exotic, as in, I wondered where her parents had got it. Her sister's name was Ciara. They were born in the late '70s.
It sort of bothers me that saran (as in saran wrap) is in Saranna, but I guess that's sort of nitpicky. It strikes me as a combo of Sara and Anna, but maybe also influenced by some culture I'm not familiar with.
Shalom immediately makes me think Jewish. Oh, there was that model Shalom Harlow a few years ago.
I think Caleb is pretty standard (doesn't strike me as "weird" in anyway), but not overused (as far as I know).
Azrael is very pretty. Um, I think it is the cat in Smurfs, but I really like the sound. Again, I wonder if it is from some culture I'm not familiar with (and Wikipedia tells me yes).
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