Christian Christian Names: Baby Names inspired by the Bible and the Saints. Martin Manser

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СКАЧАТЬ names also stand the test of time. Research compiled for this book shows that in the last 100 years, in both the UK and the US, names with a religious background were 50 per cent more likely than other names to have remained in the top 100 charts.

      Even in an increasingly secular culture, the popularity of religious names isn’t surprising. Parents of all beliefs are looking for names with a genuine meaning and story behind them, and they are finding that names with a Christian background fit the bill perfectly.

      Christian christian names come from two main sources: the Bible and the saints through church history. This compilation gives the background to these names. It lists some well-known names from the Bible: David, Noah, Ruth and Sarah alongside the less familiar Chloe and Susannah. The names of saints such as Anthony, Bernadette, George and Martin and many others are also included, as are Christian virtues such as Joy and Faith.

      Names appear in alphabetical order under their most common spelling, with their gender (m or f) in brackets. The following line explains the typical pronunciation (for a guide see page) and the derivation of the name (if known). The main body of the text details the stories of the most famous person or people to have borne that name, and is followed by any common variants or opposite gender form of the name.

      This book contains over 2,000 names with a Christian background, but we hope it isn’t just used as a reference – but rather as a source of ideas and inspiration. For some parents, choosing baby names can be remarkably easy; for others (especially teachers, for whom every name is a reminder of a wayward child) it can be a huge challenge. Whatever your situation, we hope that Christian Christian Names will help you on your way.

Christian Christian Names

      Aaron (m)

      [AIR-uhn, A-ruhn] from Hebrew or Egyptian, possibly meaning ‘bright’ or ‘mountaineer’.

      Aaron, Moses’ elder brother and Israel’s first high priest, whose main role was to assist Moses. He served as spokesman for Moses, because Moses was ‘slow of speech’. Aaron held up Moses’ hands in battle (Exodus 17:12). He was involved in several controversies, especially in making and worshipping the golden calf (Exodus 32), and in publicly criticising Moses (Numbers 12). Later, God confirmed his leading role through the rod that budded (‘Aaron’s rod’) (Numbers 17).

      Abel (m)

      [AY-bull] from Hebrew, meaning ‘breath’.

      Abel, Adam and Eve’s second son, who worked as a shepherd. He offered a sacrifice that was acceptable to God, through faith (Genesis 4:1–16; Hebrews 11:4), but was murdered by his brother Cain. When God asked where Abel was, Cain replied, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ God judged Cain by making him ‘a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth’.

      Variant: Abe.

      Abigail (f)

      [AB-i-gayl] from Hebrew, meaning ‘father’s joy’.

      A woman of beauty, wisdom and faith who saved her first husband Nabal, a rich shepherd, but one who was surly and mean. When David sent his men to Nabal, seeking supplies of food, Nabal insulted them. When David’s men returned to David, he prepared to destroy him. Abigail lost no time in humbly coming to David with a kind offer of food. Her gracious wise diplomacy persuaded David not to attack. She married David after Nabal died (1 Samuel 25).

      The name and occupation came into more general use from the ‘waiting gentlewoman’ in the play The Scornful Lady by Sir Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, first performed in 1610. Swift, Fielding and other novelists of the period used the name further and it became popularised by the notoriety of Abigail Hill, lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne, 1704–14, who used her friendship with the queen to try to secure personal favours.

      Variants: Abbey, Abbie, Abby, Gail, Gale.

      Abner (m)

      [AB-nuh] from Hebrew, meaning ‘father is light’.

      Saul’s cousin and commander-in-chief in Saul’s army. After Saul died, Abner temporarily upheld the authority of the king’s family. He was murdered by David’s commander Joab who was suspicious when Abner tried to join David (2 Samuel 3:22–38). After Abner’s death, David mourned him, saying, ‘A prince and a great man has fallen in Israel this day.’

      Abraham (m)

      [AY-bruh-ham] from Hebrew, meaning ‘father of many’.

      The chief recipient of God’s promises in the Old Testament and regarded by Jews as the father of their people. Abraham lived in the early centuries of the second millennium BC. His original name was Abram (‘the father is exalted’). The story of Abraham in Genesis is organised around the theme of how God began to fulfil some of the promises he had made to him. When God called Abraham at Ur in Southern Iraq and at Haran, he promised him a land, many descendants, a great name, and said he would become a blessing to many peoples (Genesis 12:2–3). Abraham’s continuing childlessness, however, was a serious threat to all these promises, and during the period of waiting, he attempted to find his own ways of producing an heir (Genesis 15:1–4; 16:1–4, 15–16), though he also grew in faith as God confirmed his intentions in a covenant (Genesis 15:1–6; 17:1–27). Isaac was eventually born when Abraham was 100 years old, but God continued to test Abraham, commanding him to offer his son as a sacrifice.

      Abraham’s obedience to God and his confidence that ‘The Lord Will Provide’ (Genesis 22:14) make him the supreme example of faith in the New Testament. Abraham’s final actions in buying a family burial ground and obtaining a wife for Isaac point to a future fulfilment of the promises of land and descendants.

      Variant: Abe.

      Absalom (m)

      [AB-suh-luhm] from Hebrew, meaning ‘father of peace’.

      David’s third son, who overthrew his father and was king for a brief time while David fled across the Jordan. David regained the throne as a result of Absalom receiving bad advice, but despite all this, David was grief-stricken at Absalom’s tragic death in an accident (2 Samuel 15:1–18:33): ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’

      Adam (m)

      [AD-uhm] from Hebrew, closely related to the word for ‘man’.

      The name of the first man as well as the Hebrew word for ‘human race’. He was in the Garden of Eden and given Eve as a helper. They disobeyed God and so brought sin into the world. In the New Testament, Adam usually represents the human race in its sinful rebellion against God (Romans 5:12–21), though he is also the first man and ‘the son of God’ (Luke 3:38). Jesus Christ is described as ‘the last Adam’ (1 Corinthians 15:45).

      Variant: Edom.

      Adelaide (f)

      [a-duh-LAYD] from an Old German name meaning ‘nobility’.

      French empress of Germany (931–999). The daughter СКАЧАТЬ