Bible and Virtue Names

I haven’t ever blogged about bible names, though I like many of them.  These names are not so common in the UK as in America, where there is more of an interest in the Bible.  Some well-known American heroes have had bible names and that has meant that the names  were given to children.. and became popular.  One such is Ethan.  Ethan Allen was one of the leaders of a famous militia, in colonial times, called the Green Mountain Boys..  His troops defended Vermont, and later were part of the army in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.   The name became popular and nowadays it is well known in America and also in Australia.  It is even given to children in England.   The name means firm and long lived.

In Puritan times in England, there was a trend towards using Bible names and virtue names for boys and girls, because people were starting to read the Bible in English... Previously, children had been called by saint’s names.  But in the 17^th century saints’ names were not considered because they did not have Bible authority.  Bible names became more popular. 

Over time, as the Puritan influence faded, it was more likely to be poorer people – who might read little other than the Bible, who  were going to choose bible and virtue names.  Virtue names were usually given to girls, such as Charity, Modesty, Patience, Prudence, Clemency, Faith, Hope, Grace, Mercy etc. although sometimes males were given a virtue name, such as Honesty....

Some bible names like David and Daniel or Sarah, Rachel or Mary for girls have become so popular that they have drifted away from their religious origins. So have Philip, Paul, Peter, Thomas, Timothy, James Joseph, or Elizabeth…

Others like for example Zachary or Adam  seem to me to still have the feel of “biblical” about them.  Zachary is reasonably popular in the USA, often shortened to Zak.  It means “God has remembered” and is the name of John the Baptist’s father. Adam means “earth” and is based on the name of the first man, whom God created out of the earth…

I hope to add a few more blog posts about Biblical names….